Resurgence: Rise of the Minutemen
by SovietBabushka
Summary: When Nathaniel Thiel, a Delta Force Operator, finds Preston Garvey, a renewed Minutemen rise. After a civil war in the Capital Wasteland, Recon Squad Gladius has arrived in the Commonwealth, nine months late. What, and who, they find, forces Paladin Danse into contacting Elder Maxson. With an elite force of minutemen on the prowl, what could possibly happen to the Brotherhood? Fin.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Preston was panicking. Of course, the others couldn't see that. He was all they had left, the only chance they had for surviving, so to them, he was the epitome of calm and collected. The flight from Quincy had decimated the group, and now, he was the only combatant left. Lexington had seemed like a safe bet, but the number of feral ghouls was apocalyptic, and the group lost half their numbers, including most of the surviving Minutemen. Four more were lost when the raiders attacked, and Louis, the only other Minuteman, was killed holding the raiders off from the entrance to the museum. Not that it did them any good, because now the group was surrounded on both sides, and Preston was the only one willing to fight. The more pressing matter was the raiders outside in Concord, who were trying to reinforce the thugs already inside the Museum of Freedom.

Preston took a deep breath in, shoved the door open, and proceeded to line up a shot on a raider. Before he even got the chance to begin squeezing the trigger, the drug-addled raider dropped to the ground, a chunk of his head missing. Two more followed, and by then some of the raiders had turned to face the new threat. They didn't last long. Preston couldn't see who was killing them, but frankly he didn't care. He turned his aim to one of the closer raiders, and slowly squeezed the trigger. The recoil was minimal, but the charged shot from his Laser Musket went clean through the torso of the man he had shot. Once again, he turned to aim at another raider, only to find the rest were dead. A man was hunched over one of the corpses, rifling through it, and placing loose bullets and magazines in his vest.

Preston had only heard of guardian angels in passing, but he was certain that the unknown man was one. But that assumed that guardian angels were armed to the teeth, and looked like pre-war soldiers. The man had a modified chest-plate of Combat Armor. Thinner than most, and broken into smaller plates, the man had a wide range of movement. He had webbing as well, which contained ammunition and grenades. He had an assault rifle in his arms, a rifle slung over his back, and a side-arm in a hip holster. Preston didn't wait long to call out pleading for help.

The man looked up at Preston, and for a horrifying moment, he thought that the man would simply walk away. But then, he darted forwards, completely ignoring Louis' Laser Musket, and slammed through the door. Preston blinked, but then switched to window that covered the main hall of the museum. Already, the two raiders who had been firing into the wall were dead, and the one who had been prowling the lower floors was leaning against the stairs, his neck twisted at an awkward angle. Preston hadn't heard any shots, which confused him, but then leapt back from the window when part of the wall on the second floor blew out in a fiery explosion. The raiders trying to break in were oddly quiet, and when Preston peaked out, he saw that, like their friends, they were dead, bullet holes in each forehead. The man from outside was standing by the door, patiently waiting. Preston and Sturges pushed the cabinet that had been blocking the door to the wall, and let the man in.

Their saviour was tall. Preston wasn't short by any means, during his last physical in Diamond City, he had topped off at six feet, but this man had at least three inches on him. He wasn't skinny, but nor was he fat. Broad shoulders turned into thick arms. A bushy beard covered the lower half of his face, and his hair was tied back by a bandana. He wore dark tactical glasses, the kind Preston had read that special forces wore before the bombs fell.

"Man, I don't know who you are, but your timing's impeccable." Preston stuck out his hand, "Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen."

The man regarded his hand for a second, but shook it. "Nathaniel Thiel. Glad to be of assistance."

"If that's the case, maybe there's something else you can do for us." Preston was praying that the man would be amenable to the idea he was about to propose.

He was. Nathaniel 'Call me Nate' had clambered into a suit of power armour, ripped a minigun off a Vertibird, and proceeded to demolish the raiders, and a _Deathclaw_. The suit was trashed by the time he was done, and the minigun was rammed down the Deathclaw's throat, but the threat was nullified. Nate walked back into the museum, collecting his weapons from Sturges, who he had entrusted them to. As he put his gear back on, Preston began talking.

" _That_ , was a pretty amazing display. I'm glad your on our side."

Nate nodded, fastening his sidearm, a forty-five, into his holster. "The feeling's mutual Preston. It's good to meet someone who cares for other out here. But you're far from any settlement. What brings you out here?"

Preston told him everything that had happened to the group in the past month, as well as where they were planning to go. Nate grimaced.

"I'm sorry. It's tough to be betrayed, but even worse when it leads to the death of your comrades." Preston got the impression he was speaking from experience, but just nodded. Nate continued, "As for Sanctuary, I've been fortifying it for the past three months on my own. I'll need to update the defence parameters on the turrets, but you're very welcome to come and settle. Sanctuary could do with life again."

"What happened to the previous residents, if you don't mind me asking?" Preston inquired as politely as he could, without seeming paranoid.

"Oh, I didn't do anything to them. Blame the US, or China, or whoever the hell launched the first nuke. My butler Codsworth has been there since the bombs were dropped. He can probably tell you a comprehensive history of Sanctuary since 2077." Nate responded, unperturbed by the assumption Preston made. "Let's go, we can rest up at Red Rocket. I have some spare mattresses and food there. You all look like you could use a fair bit of both."

It was a fifteen-minute walk to Red Rocket, and Preston was beginning to see why the raiders had stood no chance against Nate. The old gas station was surrounded by a rampart of earth, metal, and sandbags. A large sliding door allowed entrance, but it required Nate to put in a password. On the inside, the old filling area was replaced with different workbenches and crates. Ammunition presses, weapon workbenches, and a small smithy littered the area. A ladder led up to the roof, where Preston had seen a small tower. Inside, the garage had been replaced with a little room. A bed, a doghouse, and several stacked mattresses were resting against the wall. The door was down, and Preston could see evidence that it had been welded into place.

Nate unstacked the mattresses, and spread them on the floor. Before anyone could move towards them, he steered them out of the garage, to a bench with a few stools. He disappeared for a moment into a back office, and came out with a few more chairs, before going back into the office. Five minutes later, he came out with a tray filled with bowls of soup. The Quincy survivors dove into the meal, shovelling the food down. Nate didn't stop them, and Preston was too busy trying to drown himself in his own soup to care. Once they had eaten, he ushered them back to garage, where they all collapsed onto mattresses. Preston stood standing, not sure where to go, with all the mattresses filled. Nate pointed at the bed, before walking off.

Three hours later, Preston woke frantically, reaching for his gun. Instead, a strong pair of arms held him down. He thrashed for a moment, but regained control of himself. He found Nate standing over him, arms pressed down on his shoulders. Preston opened his mouth to apologize, but Nate cut him off before he could start.

"You haven't done anything wrong Preston. It's PTSD. It happens to the best of us. It happens to me sometimes." Nate's voice was soft, soothing, and it made Preston relax into the bed. Nate removed his hands and sat down in a chair. "The others woke half an hour ago, and I took them to sanctuary. I came back here to wake you, but you were having a nightmare."

Preston nodded, "Did you try to wake me?"

Nate shook his head, "No, that would've been worse. I started talking to you, and that's when you woke up. I find its best to let people wake up on their own from nightmares."

Nate then motioned for Preston to follow him, and led him up to the roof. Two chairs were propped up, facing towards Concord. Resting on a stool were two Gwinnet Stout beers, and when Preston grabbed his, to his surprise, it was cold. He must have been staring at the bottle like an idiot, because Nate chuckled.

"Most of the power cables in Sanctuary were underground. I just had to repair some points, hook a generator up to the circuit, and I had power again." Nate's answer was simple, but increased Preston's respect for him even more. A warrior, and an builder, if Nate turned out to be a decent politician, he could probably unite the Commonwealth within a decade.

Nate spoke up again. "You told me your story, so I think it's only fair that I tell you mine. I'll warn you now though, this will be the weirdest story you've ever heard. Prepare yourself."

Preston scoffed lightly. "I travel with a woman who can get glimpses of the future when she's stoned. I doubt you can top that."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Apparently, Nate could top that. When he had finished his story, Preston just downed the rest of his beer. The wheels in his head were turning, Nate had said he was a pre-war soldier, and Preston knew that the Minutemen rested on him. Maybe Nate could become the leader that was needed, and teach a new generation of Minutemen the proper way to fight.

"Nate, I'm the last Minuteman. I need to rebuild, but I can't do it alone. You could help me. Take up a leadership position, help me train new recruits. If we bring the Minutemen back, the commonwealth will be a safer place, and it would be easier to search for your son!" Preston knew that was a cheap tactic, bringing Nate's son, Shaun, into it, but he was desperate.

Nate's face reddened in anger quickly, before it went back to it's usual color. "First," he began, his voice low, "If you ever try to manipulate me using my son, I'll make you wish you had never met me. Second, what kind of leadership position. I won't commit to anything without knowing what I'm getting myself into."

Preston swallowed, but explained how he wanted Nate to become the General, to lead the Minutemen into a new era, but he vehemently shot down that idea.

"It's not that I won't, Preston, it's that I can't. I'll be spending a lot of time travelling, so I'll rarely be able to stay and make important decisions, or coordinate operations. I think you should take up that mantle. But make me a colonel, or a major. I'll lead strike teams for you, and train Minutemen." Nate's logic was sound, and Preston found himself agreeing. Nate carried on, "At the same time, I was an Operator, Delta Force. I'm not trained to lead large amounts of troops. At most, fifteen men, elite soldiers. If you can find me candidates, I'll train them. You'll have an elite force of Minutemen that can do almost anything. We'll be untouchable."

For the first time since Quincy, Preston felt hope for the Minutemen. The next day, when Preston announced to the group that he was the new General of the Minutemen, and that they would be rebuilding from Sanctuary, he was met with cheers. Jun Long offered to be the first recruit, much to his wife Marcy's dismay. She ranted and raved at them, saying how all Preston was going to do was to get them all killed. She stopped when Nate rested his knife on her shoulder. No one had seen him move, heard him move, and even Preston, who had been standing next to him, hadn't noticed him leaving his side.

"I doubt that'll happen, Mrs. Long. But Jun won't be a regular Minuteman. He's gone through a lot. I'm going to train him myself, and I promise you, I'm a _very_ hard man to kill." Like the day before, when Nate had threatened Preston, his voice was low, and ice-cold, but it carried.

Preston knew that under his leadership, and Nate's training, the Minutemen would become a force to be reckoned with once more. There would be no Quincy Massacre ever again.

XXXXX

 _Author's Note_

So. This isn't _The Conquering_. I'm having a lot of trouble getting inspired to write it, since I play more Fallout 4 than Skyrim. I promise to keep writing it, but I've had this idea stuck in my head pretty much since before I started writing _The Conquering_.

Anyway, so this is an AU for Fallout 4, where my SoSu, Nathaniel Thiel, and ex-Delta Force Operator, left Vault 111 three months before Preston and the Gang made it to Concord. He had a general idea of what the wasteland is like, due to super spy Codsworth, and is kind of a badass, as my protagonists seems to be. If Preston seemed OOC, I just want to say, when we find him in the game, he's been leading a group that went from twenty to five people in a month. There's no evidence of him having PTSD in the game, but damn, if that situation didn't give him any, he can't have any feelings. I don't make light of PTSD, it's a serious thing, and I am in no way an expert on it. The next Chapter takes six months later, when Recon Squad Gladius, led by Danse, finds itself in a ghoulish situation at the Cambridge Police Station. Get ready for a Badass Minuteman story.

 _Vonok,_

Soviet_Babushka


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Paladin Danse cursed to himself as he watched Dawes get brought down by three Ghouls. Rhys was down already, and although she was trying admirably, Haylen wasn't a fighter. Danse back-handed a Ghoul while firing into a group of them to his right, and ignored the spray of brain matter that coated his helmet. He had wanted to avoid any hotspots of Ghouls, but apparently Brach had been wrong when he told Danse there was only "a few Ghouls" up the road. Those 'few' Ghouls turned out to be a horde of almost two hundred, and Danse was running low on fusion cells. Like an answer to an unsaid prayer, the sound of several guns began towards the back of the horde. Several Ghouls near Danse or his squad found themselves without heads. For a moment, Danse thought it was Brotherhood reinforcements, but the lack of Laser weaponry and Power Armoured figures told him it wasn't.

In front of Danse, by one of the entries to the barricade, a man slid through the legs of a Ghoul. As he was sliding, he twisted onto his stomach and fired a controlled double-tap into the Ghoul's head. The unknown man then tossed a bag full of fusion cells at Danse's feet, while another went to Haylen. A third bag landed at Rhys' feet, and Danse saw the knight jam a stimpak he hadn't previously had into his leg. Their mysterious saviour had an automatic M4A6, the trademark weapon of pre-war special forces in the US. He wore a mottled grey and brown cloak, but Danse saw a combat vest on underneath, with a nine-millimetre handgun strapped to his chest. With all three working together, the Ghoul horde was cleared. Danse turned towards the man who had saved them. He placed himself between the man and his squad, before he began to grill him with questions.

"Who are you, citizen? Are you from the Enclave? Who trained you to fight like that? If you don't answer my questions I will put you down!" Danse was trying his best to seem threatening. And while it would have worked on the average wastelander, this man was not affected at all. Instead, he just tilted his head. A new voice cut in from behind Danse.

"I wouldn't recommend any acts of violence. I'd hate to have to hurt your friend here."

Dance whirled around, and found two men behind him. One had a knife against Haylen's throat, and the other had his gun trained on Rhys. The man holding Haylen hostage sighed deeply, before motioning with his hand. He stepped away from Haylen, and the man covering Rhys vanished. Looking over his shoulder, the man who had saved them was gone too.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't take too kindly to people threatening my men. I'm sure you understand. You carry yourself like a soldier." As the man spoke, he removed his hood, showing a bearded face with a grey beanie covering his head. His eyes were steel, and he didn't look concerned in the slightest that he was face to face with a man in Power Armour.

"I'll repeat myself once, citizen-," Danse began, but the man cut him off.

"If you think you can threaten me, you're wrong. Just because you can't see anyone else doesn't mean I'm alone. I'd like to have a civil conversation with you but you are making it increasingly difficult." The man's voice never wavered or changed the entire time he spoke, and Danse was inclined to believe that while the Ghoul's were dead, he and his squad weren't entirely safe. Instead, he holstered his gun.

Danse put his hands out in a conciliatory manner. "I'm sorry, citizen. It has been a trying few weeks for us. We were ambushed almost as soon as we arrived in the Commonwealth. I've gone from six men to three in as many weeks. Thank you for helping us, but if I may ask, why did you?"

"You needed help. We helped." The answer was short and simple and it confused Danse.

"You don't expect anything from us now?" Danse was genuinely baffled.

"Well I'd greatly appreciate it if you don't go around attacking settlements and Caravans but I don't think that'll be an issue. Raiders are open season though. Kill as many of the bastards as you want." The man wasn't joking that Danse could tell, and this made him all the more curious.

"And who are you, if I may ask?"

"Oh right, sorry. I'm Nathaniel Thiel." A cough echoed across the street, and Nathaniel turned and glared at a spot at the wall. At least Danse thought it was a spot until it shifted. Nathaniel turned back to Danse.

"Sorry, officially, I am Major Nathaniel Thiel, commander of the Minutemen First Company. You can call me Nate." At that, he stuck his hand out. Danse grabbed it gingerly.

"Paladin Danse, Brotherhood of Steel. I was under the impression that the minutemen were a militia, not an elite fighting force." Danse tried to phrase it as kindly as he could, for some reason not wanting to offend Nate.

"They were, but they were almost wiped out nine months ago. I've helped rebuild them, along with General Garvey. The First is the best of the best. Special Forces if you will." Nate's answer was surprisingly forthcoming. "I've only heard about the Brotherhood in passing. Would you mind to tell me more about your organization? If you wish, we can continue this inside? I can have my medic come and check you and your men out."

"I- I would greatly appreciate that, Major." Danse was shocked. In five minutes, the man went from threating him and his men, to offering to help them.

"Please, call me Nate." he reiterated, before turning towards the street and whistling loudly.

From the street, four more people approached, though one of them had a red cross on a bandana she wore on her arm. She seemed annoyed, until she saw Rhys. She turned towards Nate and glared at him.

"Monsieur Thiel, what have I said about waiting when there are injured?" She demanded of Nate. He just grinned at her.

"Curie, I'm not going to send you into a situation I'm not sure is entirely safe. Besides, he's a soldier, he'll live." Nate's answer, although flippant, gave Danse a good idea of what kind of man he was.

The group went into the station, and Curie began tending to Rhys. The man who has fought to them was standing two steps behind Nate to his right, but his hood was down. He was a short Asian man, with a thick goatee and hair tied back into a top-knot. The other four found a corner to huddle down in, and began checking their gear. Danse was very intrigued by this unit.

"Why are you leading only seven men if you are the Major the unit?" Danse inquired.

Nate looked at him closely. "These six are permanently attached to me. I stole Curie from the Castle when I received word of your Transmission. The other members of the company are around the Commonwealth. You wouldn't know it until you saw them in action."

"Why did you take Curie? Don't you have a medic?" Danse was on a roll now, trying to find out what he could. Nate didn't seem to mind, so he kept asking.

"All my men understand the basics of first aid. Morgan in the corner specializes in Combat Medicine, but Curie is our best surgeon. Smartest person in the Commonwealth." Nate waved towards the group in the corner, before sweeping his hand over to Curie, who was now checking on Haylen.

At this point, the Asian man stepped up. "Sir, don't you think he'll report this to his superior?"

Danse nodded in agreement, despite himself, but Nate just laughed. "All this is common knowledge Jun. If he asks anything I'm not allowed to answer, he won't get a response. It's easy enough. Now relax, Jun. We're all friends here."

One of the men in the corner piped up. "No, we're not sir! I hate Morgan. He smells like dead fish."

Another man, Danse presumed he was Morgan, just scoffed. "I can't help what your sister smells like O'Hara. She's a beautiful gal, if you exclude the dead fish smell."

The group broke out in laughter, and Danse could here giggle coming from Curie and Haylen. Jun detached himself from Nate and went to join the group, mingling easily. Curie marched over to Danse.

"Monsieur Danse, I must ask that you exit your armour, so that I may examine you."

Danse tried to inform Curie he was fine. "I'm alright ma'am. I was in my armour the entire time. No injuries."

The glare Curie gave him frightened him more than any Deathclaw ever could. Danse exited his Power Armour, and once he was out, allowed himself to be escorted by Curie to a seat near Haylen and Rhys. He also allowed Curie to fuss over him, as she cleaned cuts and questioned him. It was a nice change from Knight-Captain Cade's clinical, mechanical routine.

"It seems you all have an infection from the air here, due to dust particles from storms. I am giving you a booster shot to help you build a resistance to it." Curie gave them all their shots, and then turned to Nate. "I have done all I can for them, Monsieur Thiel. I must be back to the Castle by the evening."

"Not a problem Curie." Nate nodded, "O'Hara, Larks escort Curie back to the Castle, then meet us at the alley, ooah?"

"Ooah Major" Was the response from the two who were called out, as they started to move towards the door. They waited while Curie finished up, and then left with her.

"So, Paladin, is there anything else I or my people can help you with?" Nate asked. Danse was about to shake his head when Haylen spoke up.

"We need a deep range transmitter so we can contact our superiors in the Capital. I've repaired the antenna on the roof, but that's the only piece missing. It's in ArcJet."

Morgan, the soldier from before, rose then. "Nah, we cleaned out ArcJet weeks ago. The DRT is back at the alley. We were planning on using it at the Castle, but really, it's up to the boss."

Danse turned towards Nate. "Major?" He asked.

Nate grimaced. "Not me. My boss. General Garvey. I'll need some time to go to him and put forward the request. But the General will most likely accept. He likes helping those who need it."

Danse sighed, but nodded. He needed the help, as much as he hated to admit it, and the Minutemen were probably his best chance of getting what he needed. He was also interested to see where the friendship Nate was building with himself and Haylen would go. The affable Major had attempted to talk with Rhys, but the knight had brushed him off, rather aggressively.

"All right Major," Danse began, "If it's alright with you, I'd appreciate it if Scribe Haylen could join you, in order to document the first official meeting between the Brotherhood and the Minutemen."

Haylen looked surprised, and Rhys began to protest before Danse glared at him, cutting him off.

"I'd also ask that one of your own men stays behind, in order to keep this balanced."

Nate shrugged. "Sure, Jun, you'll be staying here. Make yourself available to Paladin Danse, and only Paladin Danse. If you don't hear it from him, it isn't an order. Ooah?"

Jun grinned at Rhys. "Ooah, Major Thiel. Give Marcy and Mama my love. Tell Sturges I want my mods when I get home."

Nate turned back to Danse, smiling, "Well Paladin, it's been a pleasure. I'll take good care of your scribe. I hope to be back with the DRT. If it doesn't pan out, I'll do my very best to help you."

Nate shook Danse's hand once more, while the remaining three Minutemen gathered by the doorway. Nate waited for Haylen to get her gear, before sticking his hand out towards her.

"Shall we, milady? I promise a most exciting journey." Nate adopted an English accent, causing Haylen to giggle, and Rhys to glare into the back of Nate's head.

While Rhys may not of liked the new friends they had made, Danse knew deep down that at some point, that friendship might stop a war before it started.

XXXXX

 _Author's Note_

 _Not quite two chapters in one day, but I've been writing this on and off since eight PM. Alright, now we have Nate and his First Company, the elite of the new and improved minutemen, based heavily off of Delta Force Operators, of whom Nate belonged to. Danse and the BoS have now made contact, and Haylen is on her way to Sanctuary, to meet General Garvey, who has changed dramatically since we saw him six months (one chapter) ago. The friendship that Nate has with both Danse and Haylen will be pretty important to the story, later on._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

By the time the sun had fallen, Major Nathaniel 'Seriously, call me Nate' Thiel and his men had impressed Haylen beyond belief. They were consummate soldiers, and Haylen believed that they would give many veteran Knights and Paladins a run for their money in combat skills. But they were also close comrades. Nate didn't treat his men like subordinates, but friends. She quickly learned the names of the remaining three minutemen. Lance Morgan was a tall, lithe man, hailing from Diamond City, and was the squads combat medic. He was good, from what the others told her, but Curie was the best. Michael Tanner was the opposite of Morgan. Short, and built like a wall, he was surprisingly the squads sniper, the second best marksman in the Minutemen, he told her proudly. Vanessa Hale was the surprising member of the squad. She was of a similar build to Haylen, but was the support soldier of the squad, and carried a modified M4, holding a drum magazine, and a bipod. The other three who were absent, Haylen received less information. 'Not our place to tell you' she was told. Overall, these were good people, and Haylen was glad to be travelling with them.

Nate had separated from the group a while ago, citing an informant he needed to talk to. His men didn't question it, so Haylen didn't, even though she was curious. He had been gone for almost three hours when he returned, just before midnight. Haylen was still awake, writing notes for her report, when she noticed him leaning against the wall. She hadn't heard him arrive. The wicked knife he had held against her throat was sheathed on his left hip, while his .45 was strapped to his right. She noticed a 9-millimetre on a chest holster, but didn't know the purpose of it.

"Did you eat, Scribe Haylen?" Nate's voice was soft, but she heard him clearly enough.

"Yes, Nate, I had my MRE. Though if I must call you Nate, you can just call me Haylen." Haylen's voice was light, and she hadn't complained, but she saw Nate frown.

"An MRE? May I see it? I haven't seen one in a long time." That confused Haylen. Most wastelanders had never seen an MRE before, but if Nate was familiar with them, he must have been to a pre-war military base before.

She shrugged regardless, "Sure, it's nothing special though." She pulled out the meal, and handed it to him. He examined it closely, turning it around in his hands.

"The Brotherhood made these? They aren't pre-war packages. They also look disgusting. I don't know how you managed to get that down." Nate was speaking rapidly, and Haylen found herself even more intrigued. He recognized the fact that they weren't pre-war packages, which meant he knew the differences. He also wasn't wrong about the taste. It was disgusting.

"You have no idea how right you are. I don't know why they gave them to us. It would be more kind to let us starve." Haylen joked, but in an instant, Nate was rummaging in his pack. He pulled out a large paper package and handed it to her. She stared at it, but he motioned for her to open it. Inside were thick strips of meat, which were cooked, but looked juicy. She took a bite out of a piece and was in bliss. The meat, either Brahmin or Radstag, was seasoned with something, and fell apart in her mouth.

"I travel separately of my men frequently, so I need to have easy food." Nate looked pleased with himself. "But that's become the standard meal for Minutemen now. They sell it in most settlements. Low fat, high protein, and doesn't get tough. It's a godsend in the field."

Haylen wrapped the package back up, and went to hand it back to Nate. He shook his head.

"No need, I have more. I'd rather you didn't eat those MRE's if I can help it. Doesn't look nice. Keep it." Nate was easily the nicest person Haylen had ever met. She had briefly met the Lone Wanderer, before Sarah Lyons died, and while he was a good person, he was a proud one. No one had seen him since the Lyon's family died out. Haylen found herself blushing, so she burrowed into her sleeping bag, hiding herself from Nate and his kindness. She heard him chuckle, but he didn't press her.

XXXX

The next morning, Haylen awoke at dawn. All the others were waking up, except for Nate, who was sitting on a log, keeping the fire from the previous night going. She didn't know if he had slept, but he didn't look tired. She started packing her things, and after a quick breakfast comprised of the jerky and insta-mash, the group set off once more. Morgan told her they were heading to Oberland Station, where they would travel the Caravan trails to Sanctuary, where they would find General Garvey. They reached Oberland by noon, and Haylen got to see the Regular minutemen in action.

Oberland Station lay on a rail line, and had a single tower from before the war. On the northern and eastern sides of the settlement, an earthen rampart protected the buildings. To the south, construction of another rampart was in progress. The north wall ran from one bank of the river, to the other, cutting off the tip of the little peninsula. The eastern wall ran a good three hundred yards, meeting up with the beginning of the southern wall. There was a relatively flat piece of ground that Haylen deduced was the marshalling spot. Two dozen Minutemen were lined up in formation, wearing combat fatigues with a combat chest-plate on. Different to Nate and his men, but carrying the same pride. Instead of the standard star that adorned many chest pieces, there was a musket crossing a lightning bolt, with three smaller stars on the left, middle, and right sides. They all carried combat rifles, though some had more work done than others. In front of the Minutemen were two men, one wearing the uniform that Nate and his men wore, and the other wearing the same as the other minutemen, but his lightning bolt was bronze, not white. Both men saluted Nate.

"Major," The Bronze Lightning-bolt man said, "We're happy to see you. The work on the walls are going well, so hopefully the raiders will get the idea soon, yeah?"

"Absolutely, Lieutenant. I knew that your platoon would be the right ones for the job. Are these the on-duty men?" Haylen could see why Nate was a major now. He had shifted from the easy-going man she had been travelling with to one with the aura of a Brotherhood elder.

"All but two squads, sir, who are maintaining a patrol spread. We don't want any surprises, sir!" The lieutenant was eager to impress Nate, Haylen realized. She wasn't the only one. The man to the lieutenant left was annoyed, and she could hear Morgan and Hale snort behind her.

"That's true, Lieutenant, but now you have twelve men spread too thin to properly patrol the perimeter. I'd rather have the settlement safe than have a parade waiting for me." Nate didn't talk down to the lieutenant, or admonish him, but simply told him what should have happened. Regardless, the man went red with embarresment.

"O-of course not s-sir," The lieutenant stuttered, before turning to the assembled minutemen, "All right you lot, go to your regular patrol routes. Make sure the workers are safe!"

Nate gently tapped the lieutenants shoulder, "Perhaps you should join the patrol too, Lieutenant Pierce? It would do the men good to see you helping."

The man saluted Nate enthusiastically, then ran off to join the patrols. Once he was a safe distance away, Nate relaxed, and then snorted.

"Jesus, did you hear him? It was like he was meeting the General. 'Sir, did you see how well I did? Sir, I'm so sorry I made a mistake, here, let me bend over for you!'" Nate's voice rose several pitches, to imitate the Lieutenant. All the remaining men laughed, but Haylen remained silent.

The man who had been standing next to the lieutenant stepped forward, and shook Nate's extended hand. He whispered something in Nate's ear that interested him, and so Nate and the man walked off, leaving Haylen and the squad to settle in to one of the buildings. The others told her that the man was Captain MacCready, the best marksman in the Minutemen, and Nate's right-hand man. He did a lot of independent work for Nate, and no one really knew what for, except for the General, and a few others.

MMXVII

 _Author's Notes_

 _I got two great reviews for the last chapter and I'd like to address them in depth. Alexeij had some good comments, and I'm going to make way way backwards from them. "Last nit-pick is that, while I agree wholeheartedly with Preston having PTSD, that usually takes a bit of time to manifest and doesn't immediately. It'd depend on how long-ago Quincy was, I think." The Quincy Massacre happened just over a month before we find Preston and the Gang in Concord, and during that time, Preston was pushing himself to his limits trying to keep the people alive. When he slept, he was probably closer to being unconscious than asleep, so I think it's likely that the PTSD started during the march. Red Rocket is the first time Preston could actually sleep, without fearing for the safety of his group, so that's really the first opportunity the PTSD has to manifest properly, without any outside factors preventing it. PTSD often occurs once soldiers are back in civilian life, or in a peaceful period._

" _But more importantly, I feel like Preston accepted the responsibility of the General position too quickly and without any complaint. His only experience in leadership, the Long March, has been a terrible, traumatic thing with some light at the end. Nate can be the most persuasive man in the world, but that's a heavy load of guilt and personal doubt Preston just seems to brush away in the span of a sentence." That's a really good point, so I'll probably go back and add more to that conversation, but not too much, any doubts Preston has will still be there by the time he meets with Haylen, but they'll be discussed in private with Nate, who is trying to relieve Preston's doubts._

" _More competent Minutemen are always a breath of fresh air. However, I only hope it won't degenerate in them possessing Humvees, tanks, loads of power armor and all that in short order, and that Nate's trained elités will be just that, elites among the more rank & file personnel making of the farmer ranks. Nate ought to be looking for his son, after all, at some point." The Minutemen are going to be closer to a professional army, or probably a Private Military. Nate was special forces, so the idea of a civilian militia confuses him. He doesn't think a volunteer force can do the same that a professioanly trained force can. Nate's elites assist with training regular forces, due to being spread out, leading to minutemen similar to the US army of the Cold War. The minutemen won't be ridiculously strong, but there will be a mechanized unit that uses scavenged power armor. Not T-60's like the entire Brotherhood, but more like repurposed raider armour, makeshift armour, and T-45 armour pieces. Other vehicles, like Vertibirds and tanks and such won't make an appearance, but maybe gunboats for the coastal settlements. Nate's search for Shaun will be explained in the next section._

" _Kudos for Super Spy Codsworth, though I would have preffered if you had showed us that, even in a later chapter, rather than tell us. The premise I can mostly agree with, though I find it a bit strange that a heavily trained operator would not at least try and chase his wife's murderers in those three months. Or maybe he has, found no clue and came back? I also assume Cods helped him set up the defences: a lever can lift the world, but Nate is still a single man and RRS looked like it was a fortress built by an Army Company." Cods did help with most of the construction, but Nate also did a lot. Dirt ramparts are fairly easy for a man to make if he works for a long time, which Nate has. I've worked in mines in South America, and the things that one hardworking person can do is amazing. Nate's a smart man, and he definitely has searched for Kellog and Shaun, but I have a plot point that'll explain why he can't find them. Red Rocket, Sanctuary, and the Castle are going to look much different than you can make them in the game, due to my personal belief that the Minutemen can be so much more than the game portrays them as. As for Super Spy Codsworth, fear not! He'll make several appearances throughout several chapters, and sometimes you may not even know it!_

 _Anyway, Alexeij, thank you so much for your reviews, I loved reading them. I hope these answer many of your points, and I hope you continue to review my story!_

 _Akhugiani, both weapons and companions from the game will make appearances, I was just really disappointed with the base weapons in the game. I play PC, so I mod the hell out of my game, and generally avoid vanilla weapons. I preferred New Vegas due to the variety of weapons. Many companions will make appearances, and we will even have drama between them. But some, like Danse and Hancock, will not travel with Nate as a companion, but more of allies. Danse is Brotherhood, and Hancock has Goodneighbour to run. Hope this answered your questions. As for the Prologue and Chapter One, I find it easier to keep them separate. I like writing Prologues, it lets me set up a story without having a massive chapter. Not that it would make a difference, but it's just a personal preference._

 _Please, review this story, tell me what you think, and if you like this, follow me or the story. I'm also writing one for Skyrim, called_ _ **The Conquering**_ _, which is taking a backseat to this one, but will still be updated._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Why does Tanner seem upset?" Haylen asked Vanessa Hale. The sniper had been in a mood since they had left Oberland Station earlier that morning. The normally chipper man was oddly quiet, whispering back and forth with Morgan.

"Ah, Mac's travelling with us. That means if we run into trouble, Tanner won't be able to impress you. Mac's the best marksman in the Minutemen, even if he rarely talks about it." Hale replied, not really paying attention to Haylen.

This was a change. Before, the "Untouchables" as the squad (and company they belonged to) were called, had been rather relaxed travelling through the Commonwealth, but since Oberland, they had been cautious, and there was frequently check-ins with the group of them, making sure everyone was accounted for. Haylen didn't know why, but it was beginning to worry her. Even unflappable Nate was scanning his surroundings, gripping his rifle, finger resting on the trigger guard. MacCready had gone on ahead, and Nate had seemed annoyed at that. Haylen made her way forward, to where Nate was.

Suddenly, he tackled her to the ground, and pulled his cloak over them. His hand covered her mouth, and her eyes widened in fear. She was about to start thrashing when she heard loud stomps near them.

Nate moved his other hand to his mouth, and put a finger over his lips. He removed his hand for her mouth, and she felt it creep towards his hip, where his .45 was holstered. He stopped his hand above his hip, so it was resting on her stomach. He was perfectly still, not even a shiver travelled his body. Haylen heard the rough laughter of a Super-Mutant, and knew why the group had been so anxious. They were in Mutant territory, and they didn't know what they would find. Nate's hand continued to slide down towards his hip, and when he finally managed to draw his sidearm, Haylen could see a large silencer screwed onto the barrel. He held himself still. Haylen was terrified. Even with power armour, most Brotherhood units had to be large to eliminate war-bands. There were five of them. Haylen didn't know where MacCready was. The stomping grew louder, and Haylen heard the Mutants talking to each other, about killing, eating, and killing some more. Nate was tensing up, getting ready to react if he had to, but the Mutants stomped on by. Nate stayed on top of Haylen for ten more minutes, but the time had taken its toll. His arms were shaking, and his breathing was starting to get heavier. Then, he rolled off her onto his back. The others were rising from the spots they had been hiding in, and from the glance that went between the three, they didn't appreciate the position Haylen had put Nate in.

"We need to get to Vault 81. We can head down to Mass Pike from there, then make our way up to Weston Water Plant. We'll rest there, and then move on up to Sanctuary." Nate wheezed out his command, before gathering himself, hopping up, and marching south.

XXXXXX

It took them two hours to get to Vault 81, where MacCready was waiting for them. He looked unconcerned when Morgan mentioned the Super-Mutants.

"I went around them" He shrugged, indifferent.

Vault 81 had opened itself to the Commonwealth in 2277, and when the Minutemen had returned under General Garvey and Nate, it took the combined diplomatic prowess of both to convince the Vault to allow a Minuteman garrison. It was only when a large gunner force almost breached the Vault door that they were convinced. Overseer McNamara was friendly with Nate, Haylen observed, and many of the Vault Dwellers greeted him enthusiastically. One little girl, maybe a year, toddled over to Nate and stuck her arms out. Haylen expected Nate to hug the girl, or ignore her, but instead, he picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. A daughter, Haylen mused, or maybe a niece. To her immense surprise, a young woman rushed over when she saw her daughter.

"Major, I am so sorry. She loves seeing you, and sometimes I lose track of where she goes." The woman was panicking, and Haylen felt bad for her. Nate put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Tina. I'm not sure if Tracy loves me, or my beard, but I'm always happy to indulge her. It's good to get a bit of normalcy in my line of work." Nate reassured the mother, Tina. The toddler, Tracy, was trying to steer Nate using his beard, and Haylen admitted to herself it was an adorable sight. Suddenly, despite two women trying to hold her off, a third stalked over.

"I see the _bastard_ is still alive Tina. I thought you would've made the right decision and leave it in the Commonwealth, where it belongs." The unknown woman seethed at Tina. Tracy, not really understanding what was going on, but noticing her mother was upset, began to cry.

Nate pulled her into his arms, and then handed her to Hale, who didn't seem surprised at all to be holding the child. Instead, she made faces at it, making the little girl giggle. Nate, however, had a cold expression of fury on his face.

"Alexis, I've warned you once to stay away from Tina and Tracy. Holt was wrong to seduce Tina, and he's paying for his mistakes. But under no circumstance will I allow you to treat either of the girls this way. I'll be reporting this to Gwen, and recommending that you be spend a day in the brig." Nate's voice was rising, and it was drawing a crowd. Apparently this was a rare thing. "If I ever hear about this happening again, I don't care what protection you think the Vault will give you. No one will ever, _ever_ find you. Erin will go to Sanctuary with me, and she'll forget all about you. _Stay away_."

The woman, Alexis, scampered off, and a man wearing Vault security armour strolled up. He tipped his head towards Nate.

"Major, as much as I approved of that, I am being told to remind you that threatening Vault inhabitants is against the regulations established by General Garvey and Overseer McNamara. On the other hand, before you leave, I've got a beer with your name on it." The security officer was polite, more so than Haylen expected.

"Thanks, Edwards, but I'll have to take a rain check. I have to roll out in a few. Make sure Alexis stays away from Tina and Tracy though, yeah?" Nate responded, eyes on Alexis' glaring figure across the hall.

"Not a problem Nate. Good luck with the Brotherhood lady."

XXXX

The group was in Vault 81 for half an hour. They left, heading southwards once more, towards the Massachusetts Pike highway. It took them the rest of the day to get to Weston Water treatment plant, which had two squads of Minutemen guarding it. They gave Nate a salute, and carried on their duties. The group entered the building and headed towards an area packed with mattresses. They ate, and then settled in for the night. Haylen was about to drift off to sleep when she heard Nate and MacCready talking.

"I'm glad you made the journey okay RJ. Do you have any news?" Nate sounded hopeful.

"I got a lead about a scarred mercenary down around the ruins of New York. Found any entire camp of runaways killed. Looks like they didn't want them back. I don't know where he went after that, but my guess is he'll be back in the Commonwealth before the years out. He'll need to get new orders at some point. I'm sorry, I know how important it is that you find Kellog, and by default, Shaun." MacCready's voice was soft, and he sounded upset.

Haylen didn't know who Kellog or Shaun was, but the latter seemed important to Nate on a personal level. Despite herself, she found herself falling asleep, despite the thoughts racing in her mind.

The next morning, before the sun was even up, the group set off, and this time, MacCready stayed with them the entire time. It was almost six when the approached a heavily fortified Red Rocket. There were minutemen spaced around on the roof, and Haylen saw gun slits on the walls, which were made from large stone bricks. Haylen hadn't seen those materials in any other Minutemen outpost, so naturally she noted it in her journal. Past the Red Rocket was a large stone and asphalt bridge, which led to a large gate. The watchmen at the top recognized Nate, and let them through. On the other side of the large, thick walls, was Sanctuary, the headquarters of the Minutemen. A combination of pre-war houses, shacks, and more sturdy buildings, A road curved slightly uphill, towards a block of houses. The other dispersed, while Nate led Haylen towards a metal building that was covered in antennas and wires.

"Wait here, Haylen. I'm afraid you're not allowed in here." Nate apologized.

He stepped in, and Haylen caught a glimpse of many radios on a desk. He was gone for a good three minutes, before he came out, followed by a tall African-American man, wearing a Navy Blue overcoat, with the standard Minuteman combat plate on his chest. A tricorn cap rested on his head, the same blue as the coat, lined with white.

"Preston Garvey, ma'am, General of the Minutemen." The man introduced himself. "I understand your organization needs some help. Let's see what I can do. Follow me please."

General Garvey led her towards one of the pre-war houses, while Nate diverted off to the one next door. The general led her into a dining room, and offered her a seat. She took it, and he seated himself across from her.

"It's been a while since we've seen a Brotherhood team in the Commonwealth. Almost a year if I remember correctly." The comment was an invitation to explain their presence.

"Yes sir, after Recon Squad Artemis, our predecessor, went missing, we were slated to come find out what happened to them, as well as look for technology. An insurgency by Talon Company mercenaries, the Capital's equivalent to the Gunners, postponed our trip by many months. We lost half our men upon arrival, and desperately need a Deep Range Transmitter to contact our leadership." Haylen purposely omitted the energy reading she believed were coming from the Institute, not wanting to clue in the General that it would provoke Elder Maxson to come to the Commonwealth.

"Ah, the desperate survivors of an ambush. I see why Nate offered to help. We don't really need the transmitter, so I'll inform the boys at the alley to send it to the Cambridge Police Station. Sadly, Nate is needed for something else, so a regular minuteman platoon will escort you back to your people." General Garvey agreed rather easily, Haylen thought. "Know this though, if you transmit anything that would bring hardship or suffering to the people of the Commonwealth, human, ghoul, or synth, I will be very angry, and then I'd have to have Major Thiel do something dangerous. I don't think you want that for your organization, any less than I do."

There was the response she had been expecting. It seemed that the Minutemen would help those who asked, but they wouldn't tolerate threats to the people. It was noble, if a bit ambitious. Elder Maxson wouldn't have an easy time bringing the Commonwealth to the Brotherhood's banner, but he was an extraordinary man.

' _So is Nate_ ' A voice in her head whispered. Suddenly she felt uneasy. She didn't want to know what would happen if Nate and The Untouchables went to war against the Brotherhood.

MMXVII

 _Author's Notes_

 _So, Haylen goes on a journey, discovers a fair bit about Nate, and meets Preston, AKA badass general dude. Also, we see why Nate hasn't found Kellog and Shaun. Kellog's not in the Commonwealth, so Nate can't find him. That's what MacCready has been tasked with. More reviews, which I loved. Please, keep them coming. The next chapter will be in Nate's perspective, starting a few days after Haylen leaves for Cambridge._

 _I've mentioned 'the alley' a few times, and it is Hangman's alley, but with a twist. We'll see why, when Nate and the Untouchables show up. Also fun fact, this is technically the third chapter today, as I've published three in twenty hours basically. Go me, but don't expect three often. I might be able to write two a day for now, but my schedule is about to change._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soveit_Babushka_


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Nate watched through the scope as MacCready dropped another raider. The two were inside the monument at Bunker Hill. Kessler had contacted Preston about the raiders across the river, so Preston sent Nate and RJ to go keep them wary of Bunker Hill. That's why Nate, and not Tanner, was spotting for Mac. He needed someone who would simply spot, and not try to turn it into a competition. They had been in the monument since midnight, targeting the raiders who wanted to probe Bunker Hill. As he looked around, he saw a sniper trying to line up a shot.

"Two-thirty, we got a marksman. He's on the overpass over the road. See him?" Nate called out.

"Yeah, I got him. Pushing one through." RJ responded. His rifle barked, and Nate saw the head of the sniper explode in a pink mist.

"That's eight so far RJ. Good shot"

"It's an easy assignment boss. You know I like shooting raiders in the head. Duncan also likes when I bring him things back from assignments." RJ said cheerfully.

"How's the little demon, by the way? Hold on, trying to cross the bridge. One O'clock." Nate spotted.

"Yep," MacCready drawled, then fired, "Duncan's fine. He misses 'Super-Beard Man' as he likes to call you. Marcy's good with him, though he adores when Piper or Cait watch him. I think they like to as well, so it helps."

MacCready fired two more shots off in quick succession, then reloaded his rifle. It was a gift from Nate, when he came back with Duncan. Originally, it had been a hunting rifle, nothing special. But Nate had scavenged and traded for weeks, and had turned into a lethal killing machine. It was till chambered in .308, but used hollow point bullets instead, which suited Mac, because he only went for fleshy shots. The old wooden body and stock had been replaced with a polymer, with a rubber ending on the stock. The scope was powerful 3-12X50, and made shooting much easier for MacCready. Since Nate had given it to him, he never saw him use another rifle. It was touching.

The duo stayed up in the monument until noon, at which point Tanner and Morgan came up to take over sniping duties. As they came out from the bottom of the monument, Kessler was standing nearby, waiting for them. The leader of Bunker Hill was fiercely independent, and the more she relied on the Minutemen, the ruder she got to the men stationed in the camp.

"I only heard eleven shots. How are you going to keep the raiders away if you aren't killing them all now?" Kessler demanded, in a very civilian manner, Nate thought.

"Well, ma'am," Mac began, "When people start getting shot at, it's a tendency to hide somewhere you can't get shot, and while raiders are crazy and savage, they ain't stupid. One the shots start flying," A shot from Tanner sounded at that moment, "Raider's want to get somewhere they won't get hit. Eleven kills would have them worried about pushing over the bridge. We have another team up there making sure they don't want to."

With that, Nate and MacCready strolled over to the bar, where Joe and Tony Salvodi were arguing about the Minutemen, once more. More specifically, Tony joining them.

"Pop, you've seen what the Minutemen have done for Bunker Hill, and that's just four of them. If I join, I'd be helping others, like the Minutemen here do!" Tony was passionate, but Nate knew that all he really wanted was his father's approval.

Joe, however, was quick to shut his son down. "The boys here are Untouchable, Tony! They are the best the Minutemen have to offer. The nearest recruiting post is at Greygarden, and how do you expect to get there alive?" Joe spotted Nate at that moment. "Major, please explain to my son that the average Minuteman doesn't have the same responsibilities that you do!"

Nate sighed, because he knew that Joe would regret asking his opinion by the end of this conversation. He took a deep breath in, and then began talking.

"It's true, regular Minutemen don't have the same responsibilities my men and I do," At this Joe 'hmphed' loudly, but Nate continued on, "At the same time, most Minutemen units rotate through combat zones and civilian zones, in the areas we designate combat zones, the responsibility of the Minutemen unit is to track down hostile forces, whether they be raiders, ghouls, or Super-Mutants, mark them, and if possible, eliminate them. In civilian zones, the responsibility of the unit is to assist with construction, patrol settlements and trade routes. It's never easy, but you contribute to a safer Commonwealth."

Joe glared at Nate, and then, to his horror, MacCready spoke up.

"If you're worried about not making it to Greygarden, I could always take you. I'm heading that way, and I could use the company there. I knew the recruiter at Greygarden. Good man. He'll fit you with a good training squad."

Nate felt a little bad for Joe, but kept on talking.

"You'll find yourself out of Basic Training in about four months time, after which you'll get your first deployment. First deployment is six months, after which you can apply for specialized training, or permanent posting. Specialized training would lead to you joining a specialist squad, which would be based out of the Castle, posted when needed. Permanent posting would place you in a specific settlement, for another deployment, this one nine months long."

In the corner of his eye, Nate saw Mac realize what was going on.

"That's if there isn't a major crisis, at which point all Minutemen would be marshalled, and sent into the field. You'd be away from civilization for months at a time, in some gruelling situations. You should see what it's like down in New York. We can't go into the city properly without specialized Hazmat suits." MacCready announced. "The ghouls there are so numerous that we can only use heavy weapons, and we have to have men on duty at all times, fighting off ghoul hordes that can be hundreds or thousands strong. The limbs fly everywhere, and most off duty grunts spend time clearing brain matter and organs off the barricades."

Tony looked sick, and so did Joe, but after a moment, Tony spoke up.

"I'm not sure how I'd handle, but I'd still like to enlist and help the people, Major. I want to do good, and leave a legacy that's more than a bar at a caravan stop. Sorry pops, but it's true." Tony spoke with conviction, and Nate couldn't help but be impressed.

RJ looked at Nate, and he nodded at the sniper.

"Alright then Tony, I'm leaving in fifteen Minutes. If you can be packed and ready to go, I'll take you to Greygarden." Mac informed the man. He nodded vigorously, and ran off.

Joe looked shocked, having not expected the turn of events. Nate dropped a sack of caps on the bench, and walked off towards the bunkhouse that had been built for the minutemen. He made his way inside, and found Jun and Vanessa playing cards, while O'Hara and Larks cleaned their weapons. The latter two must have shown up while Nate was in the monument with MacCready, but he wasn't that surprised. He stripped his gear off, stacking it on a table, before walking in the curtained off room that was his. A mattress was propped up on some wooden posts, but it was sturdy, and held him as he sunk into it.

XXXXX

When Nate woke up, the sun was setting. RJ and Tony were long gone, and the Minutemen had been banned from Joe's bar. The result was his entire stock of beer vanishing, while the Minutemen claimed that they had traded with a caravan for their entire supply. Kessler was too tired to deal with it, and Nate was playing dumb. _'My men would never do something so malevolent'_ he had told Joe, when the man had started complaining. The barkeep had relented, telling the minutemen they were allowed back, and within fifteen minutes, all his beer had reappeared. _'I have no idea how it happened Joe. Are you sure they went missing in the first place?'_ Old Man Stockton had laughed at Nate's comment, and offered to buy him a drink. Nate accepted, and by the time it was well and truly dark, Morgan had come down from the monument, replaced with O'Hara. Tanner couldn't stand the morbid humour of the medic, so he had kicked him out.

The next day, the total kill count for the sniper teams was twenty-eight, eleven from MacCready, ten from Tanner, and seven from Nate himself. Although marksmanship hadn't been his focus when he was an operator, his skills had improved exponentially since he had stumbled out of the vault. During breakfast, an eyebot floated into Bunker Hill, a Minutemen logo stamped on it's chassis. Nate sat up. It wasn't one of the regular eyebots that spread Radio Freedom across the Commonwealth. The fact that the logo was black instead of blue gave it away. Most would never notice, but Nate had sprayed the logo on that specific bot himself. It floated into the bunkhouse, ignoring the residents of Bunker hill. Nate rose and followed it in.

"Codsworth, you have to play Radio Freedom while you're undercover, otherwise people will be curious." Nate chastised the robutler.

"Oh, sir, I am simply mortified that I forgot. I will make haste to fix this situation at once!" Codsworth, Nate's information gatherer in the Commonwealth, affirmed.

"Easy, buddy, give me your report first. Then fix your spying setting."

"Of course, sir! In Diamond City, support for the Minutemen has risen 13.8 percent, due to both the efforts of Miss Wright, and the men and women of the First Company in Hangman's Alley. Goodneighbour is still bitter about the Minutemen detachment, but Mayor Hancock has placated them. On the downside, despite the raise in support in Diamond City, Mayor McDonough is still decrying the Minutemen as an occupation force, and that they will soon take all the rights of the people away. Few believe him however. The Brotherhood didn't appreciate my visit, even though that lovely Scribe Haylen vouched for me. One of their men, Rhys, fired at me as soon as I spoke, and it was simply dreadful." Codsworth's report was longer than usual, but Nate wasn't that surprised.

Hancock was a good leader, and having him convince Goodneighbour that the Minutemen would respect the people would make it easier on the garrison. McDonough was becoming a problem, however. Nate would replace him, except he didn't trust anyone in Diamond City to do the job well. He considered putting a member of the Untouchables undercover in the city, and having them get the support to run for mayor. It would take time, but it was doable. Despite McDonough's best attempts, the Minutemen were gaining lots of support from Diamond City, from the merchants, and the citizens of both the upper and lower stands.

Nate thanked and dismissed Codsworth, he left the bunkhouse blaring the radio. Several voices yelled at the robutler, and the volume decreased. Nate laughed despite himself, and sat down in a chair. In the corner, the Minutemen radio squawked alive.

"Major Thiel, this is Lieutenant Mahone, General Garvey requests that you, and all your men, leave Bunker Hill and return to the alley. He says Code-Red. Repeat, Bunker Hill is a Code-Red. Do not respond, just get out."

Nate was on his feet before the radio closed out, had his gear halfway on, and had already emptied his 9mm into the radio. The rest of the squad was inside in an instant, and with a brief 'Code-Red' they were moving, getting ready to go. Code-Red meant the settlement had sold them out to the Gunners, who were a major threat to Minutemen units. As good as Nate and his men were, Preston wouldn't have called a Code-Red unless the incoming force was too large for the seven of them. As the squad exited the bunkhouse, a shot whizzed by Nate's head, lodging into the wall. Kessler was aiming a rifle at him, arms unsteady. Before she could shoot again, Joe Salvodi tackled her.

"Run, Major! Keep my boy alive!" The barkeep yelled as he wrestled the gun out of Kessler's hands.

As Nate scrambled out of Bunker Hill, followed by his squad, shouts and shots were heard from the settlement. They had made it to the river when Nate heard the whistling sound in the air.

"No!" He exclaimed as he turned, but it was too late.

In a blinding flash, Bunker Hill was gone, destroyed by a barrage of three Fat-Men. Tanner grabbed Nate, and dragged him to one of the small boats hidden at the river bed. He was shoved in, and before he could react, they shoved off, and started rowing across the river. Nate hugged his legs to his chest, and started rocking back and forth. The betrayal, followed by the nuking hit him hard, and brought memories he thought he had buried to the surface.

XXXXX

The others didn't know what to do. Their Major, the toughest person they knew, was sobbing like a child. They had never seen him like this, and even once they were in the alley, he wouldn't stop. Fortunately for them, today was one of the days that Piper Wright was visiting the alley. She was the only civilian allowed inside, because the Major trusted her. She was by his side in an instant.

"It's okay Nate," She soothed him, "I know what you saw, it's okay. It was the gunner's okay? They did this. It wasn't the Chinese."

Piper kept talking to him, and moved him into his room. The others stood in the alley like idiots. It was Lance Morgan who broke the silence.

"What the actual Fu-"

MMXVII

 _Author's Note_

 _Wow. Okay I wasn't planning the chapter to go this way, but it did. So, to recap, Nate and MacCready shoot some people, recruit a barman, have a long nap, steal lots of beer, then Nate watches Bunker Hill get nuked. The nuking brings up the memories of the bombs dropping, which renders him emotionally wrecked. Bunker Hill has been destroyed, and aside from Tony Salvodi, who wasn't present, everyone inside died, even Meg, the little girl who tried to extort you. We'll be seeing the aftermath of this over the next few chapters. I'll probably only get one a day out for now, but if I can, I'll try to get two out in a day, but once a week. So like eight chapters a week, unless I feel I can't get you guys the quality you deserve._

 _Leave reviews for me, and tell me what you thought of this chapter._

 _Vonok._

 _Soviet_Babsushka_


	6. Update and Information

Update and Information

Howdy,

This is going to be a quick update where I answer a question I've received a couple times now. Some think the nine month gap isn't long enough to turn the wastelanders into a special forces group. I'd like to address that now. Army boot camp is ten weeks, sometimes fourteen to sixteen, depending on what you are enlisting as. Marine boot camp is twelve weeks. By comparison, BUD/S , the Navy SEAL training program, is six months. If we include the fact that much of the training Nate is doing with Jun and the others would include lots of field time, it's not too unreasonable to see them where they are. If anyone disagrees, and can give me a solid reason, I'll change things up. Also, in the previous chapter, Nate tells Tony Savoldi that Minutemen boot camp is 'about four months'. It's sixteen weeks long. Four weeks is about a month.

The Gunner's nuked bunker hill because Nate and his squad was there. Since Quincy, the gunners have been trying to eradicate the Minutemen. They are pretty much the biggest threat to the mercenary group outside of Boston. If the Minutemen exist, the Gunners can't do their nefarious deeds. That's why they convinced Kessler to try and capture them.

Like I said, the next few chapters will cover the aftermath of Bunker Hill, and how the Commonwealth responds to it. Right now, the only known survivor of Bunker Hill is Tony Savoldi, who left with MacCready for Greygarden.

Thanks,

Soviet_Babushka


	7. Chapter Five

_AN: This chapter takes place during the period after Tony left Bunker Hill, but before it gets nuked._

Chapter Five

Tony Savoldi's first day of basic training started at four in the morning. Major Shaw and Sergeant Cait practically kicked down the door to the trainee's room.

"All right you sorry bastards, get up, it's time to turn ye into right proper Minutemen." Cait's Irish accent yelled out to the sleeping recruits.

Tony was up in an instant, having heard the stories of what happened to the recruits who were too slow. His bunk mate, a man from Diamond City named John Rollins, fell out of his bed, but was on his feet quickly. The other recruits were in varying states of awareness. Some were at ramrod attention, like Tony, while others were still trying to comprehend that they had to be awake. One man was still sleeping soundly, at least until Major Shaw upended his mattress, depositing him on the floor. Suddenly, the dorm was flooded with drill sergeants, who began screaming at everyone. Tony barely noticed Major Shaw and Sergeant Cait disappear, but they were gone, leaving the trainees to their fate.

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By the time the recruits were given a breakfast break, Tony was almost limp. John and his sister, Becca, who had joined up with him, helped Tony to the mess hall. Inside, Captain MacCready was talking with Cait. He saw Tony, who was leaning on the siblings, and cracked a massive grin.

"Ah, the first day of basic. I would say I feel sorry for you but I trained with Major Thiel. Compared to his training, this is a breeze walk." The captain's eyes were faraway, like he was remembering something. Sergeant Cait followed up.

"Aye, that man works his men harder than anyone I know. And most of those boys were survivalists before Nate recruited them." Unlike MacCready, Cait had no faraway gaze in her eyes, but a small smile spread across her face, once she mentioned the Major.

The recruits excused themselves, and sat down to eat. The meal was nice, made up of fresh Razor-Grain bread, Tato's and Brahmin milk. Once they had eaten, the recruits were sent back outside, and after a fifteen-minute lecture from Major Shaw on the importance of the Minutemen in the Commonwealth, they were sent to run laps around the Castle walls. Twelve laps later, Gunnery-Sergeant Mallory's voice called out.

"All right recruits, down to the beach! You have one minute to be waist deep in the water. GO!"

Tony and the others sprinted down to the beach, then waded into the water. It was cold, and it chilled Tony to his bones. Standing in the water wasn't fun, and the waves threatened to knock him over. He braced himself against the currents, and let it wash through him. The drillers were constantly yelling at the recruits, some were encouraging them, while others were degrading them. Once more the Gunny's voice called out.

"Trainees! Interlock with your squad mates!" Once the command had been followed, he continued. "If any of you get knocked down, the entire squad stays in the water for an hour. Each person counts, for a maximum of six hours, bar any of you dying. Good luck recruits!"

Squad Knox, Tony's training squad, linked arms, and fought against the waves, which were getting higher, despite it only being around noon. The reason was behind them, further out at sea. Two speed boats, which had been repaired by Sturges and his team of mechanics, were cutting back and forth through the water, creating bigger and bigger waves.

For another hour, Tony and his squad mates fought the tides. They were all shivering at this point, and when Gunny finally called them out, they stayed huddled together. Some orderlies escorted them indoors, where they were placed in front of a roaring fired. The drillers left them alone for the rest of the day. Somehow, Squad Knox was one of the two squads that didn't get knocked over. The other was Squad Greene, which was made up entirely of miners from the quarry settlements. Those men were large, and most were going through basic, and would then go through specialized training for support weaponry. Squads Gates and Putnam were still in the water, and Tony found himself wondering how anyone joined the Minutemen if this was how they were treated.

Squad Knox was made up of Tony from Bunker Hill, John and Becca Rollins from Diamond City, Daniel Finch, who came from his family's farm, Bobby De Luca from Vault 81, and Michelle Dalton, who at twenty-six was the oldest of all the recruits. The squad hadn't been very close when the day had started, but by the time the dinner bell rang, Tony knew that Bobby used to be addicted to Jet, before Major Thiel forced him off it, and gave him the opportunity to do some good by joining the Minutemen. John and Becca joined because of Piper Wright's articles about the Minutemen's work in clearing out the north-western part of the Commonwealth, making it the safest part, and wanting to spread the safety to the rest of it. Daniel Finch joined because his brother, who had joined a raider gang, was killed by them for trying to protect his family's home. Michelle wasn't from the Commonwealth, but from Providence, where there was a massive raider war going on, which had driven out the honest people. Captain MacCready had found Michelle, and recommended she join the Minutemen. She followed his advice, and despite having been frozen with the rest of them, told them that she regretted nothing, and that she wanted to become an officer. Tony was of a mind with her, because he wanted to be the officer in command of the Bunker Hill garrison, to make his father proud.

The meal began fairly normal, with lots of conversation through the mess, but about halfway through, Squads Gates and Putnam stumbled in, still dripping from the beach. The cook was on them in a flash, yelling at them for tracking sand and water into the mess hall. One of the recruits started yelling back, and when the cook told him to leave, he started to swing at him. Tony was up in a moment, but Sergeant Cait beat him to the recruit. She laid him out with an uppercut to the solar plexus. He curled up on the floor, clutching his stomach. MacCready intercepted Tony, and took him back to his seat. The man on the floor was dragged out by two drillers, and when they returned less than five minutes later, they informed all the recruits that the man had been kicked out of the Castle, and he would not be continuing basic training.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. All four training squads were corralled into a corner of the mess hall. No one spoke, though hushed whispering was heard between Captain MacCready and Major Shaw. Shaw was clearly upset at whatever it was MacCready was saying, but with an indifferent shrug, he rose. He winked at Cait as he left, but she responded with a casual middle-finger. The captain laughed as he walked out of the mess hall, but nothing else of note happened.

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The next two weeks flew by. The training squads never touched a weapon in that time, only working on physical fitness, and doing hand to hand combat with Cait. Tony found himself leading the recruits in hand to hand. The boxing style that Cait taught was very utilitarian. The strikes were designed to incapacitate, while certain ones could be used to kill if necessary. In the south corner of the Castle was a boxing ring, where recruits were encouraged to spar against one another. Tony was the only recruit who could last longer than a minute with Cait in the ring. But that was because he knew how to wrestle, from when he had to help wrangle Brahmin at Bunker Hill. The fact that there were no rules for how to win helped, but Cait had fought against raiders, and it was almost impossible to beat her. According to one of the guards at the Castle, the only time they had ever seen Cait beat was when Major Thiel stayed for a week. Apparently, he had put the boxer into a joint lock and made her yield.

On the first day of the third week, the recruits were given wooden guns. They were taught how to hold them, march with them, aim them, and everything else they would have to know. They started doing long marches with full packs, and swimming became mandatory to continue training. Twice, the recruits were given no training assignment, and instead assisted with the construction of the docks that were being built. Lumber, stone, rope, nails were all carried down, and while support beams were being put in place, large planks were being sawn out, to become the walkway of the pier. On the Sunday of the third week of basic, the recruits were given the morning off, to rest, and prepare themselves for the next week. At the end of the day, they were sent to the armoury, where Quartermaster Sheffield was waiting for them. The main entrance to the armoury was protected by a thick stone and metal wall, with a window to pass gear through. Behind the quartermaster, the gunsmiths of the Minutemen were at work, assembling new rifles, repairing old rifles, or creating entire new guns, all to be used by the Minutemen. Apparently, were once the armoury was contained to a single wing of the wall, it now stretched the tunnel system underneath the Castle, which had to be excavated and reinforced. Each recruit was given a standard Combat Rifle. The rifle had a full wooden stock, a long barrel, and a ring sight at the end, near the muzzle. On the butt of the stock, Tony's serial number was stamped, as it also was near the receiver. That way, each gun could be identified to a soldier, and vice versa. No Minuteman would ever be found with a gun that wasn't his.

After receiving their rifles, the recruits were drilled repeatedly on how to strip their weapon, and reassemble it. They did so every morning before drills, which now consisted of work on the firing range, as well as drills in the brewery nearby, and in the evening, before they went to bed. They were encouraged to strip, clean, and reassemble their weapons whenever they had the chance, and most did. They were almost through the first quarter of basic, and would soon be moving on to more intense drills and training exercises. At the end of the first half, trainees would be sent to another camp, where they would continue training, as well as begin to participate in civilian zone patrols.

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It was a Wednesday when Tony saw the explosion. He had been in the ring with Becca, showing her some advance techniques when a blinding flash took over the sky. He threw off his gloves, ducked out of the ring, and ran up to the battlements with everyone else. Across the city, a mushroom cloud filled the sky. Tony took a minute to orient himself, and he noticed something missing.

"No, where's the monument?" He said aloud. He saw Major Shaw moving to him, along with Sergeant Cait.

"No! NO! MY DAD WAS THERE!" He began shouting. John and Daniel grabbed him, but he threw them off, intent of going to the gate. "My dad's there! I need to go see if he's alright!"

Cait grabbed him by the collar and yanked him down. Two of the drillers tried to pin him to the ground, but he slammed his head into the nose of the first one, and boxed the others on the ears. Out of nowhere, Captain MacCready arrived, and twisted his arm into an awkward angle, forcing him to stop fighting.

"I'm sorry Tony," MacCready said, "But that wasn't a single mini-nuke. That was too large, it would've been a cluster. No-one survived that. I'm sorry."

"No, no. My dad's okay, I know he is. He's a survivor, I need to make sure he's okay!" Tony was crying at his point, but he didn't care.

He felt a sharp pinch on his neck, and soon, he became sluggish, eventually drifting off into darkness.

MMXVII

 _Right, Tony now knows that Bunker hill is gone, and had a pretty rough reaction. Also, on a not so grim note, we got a decent idea of what Minutemen basic is like. I've never been to any type of boot camp, because I am still in school, but I tried to convey what I've seen in movies, TV and documentaries. The next chapter is going to start right at the nuking, from Nick Valentine's perspective in Diamond City. We're going to see the people's reactions, as well as get a glimpse of what state Nate's in, a few hours after the explosion. Leave a review, and please don't hate me for bringing this chapter in so late. It's been a long day._

 _Vonok_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	8. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The explosion was heard across the Commonwealth, of that, Nick was sure. The synth detective had been talking to Ellie about a case when the resounding _BOOM_ hit Diamond City. In an instant, he had been out the door, and was making his way to the Upper Stands, ignoring the protests of the wealthy. The mushroom cloud dominated the sky where Bunker Hill used to be, and Nick knew the Commonwealth was about to enter a new era. Nate had been at Bunker Hill, though Nick was convinced that the soldier and his men would be alive. The pre-war vault dweller was a tough man to kill. But the fact remained, someone had just eradicated Bunker Hill completely, and Nick knew within days cases would flood in, requesting that the detective try to find some loved one or another that had been at the caravan stop. All around him, people were talking in hushed whispers, and by the end of the day, all of Diamond City would know what the explosion had been.

Nick had no doubts that Mayor McDonough would spin the tragedy as the failure of the Minutemen to protect their ally, and that Diamond City would be next. He was the epitome of the kind of politician you didn't want to run a city. The good news was that for the most part, he was now ignored by everyone. Guards were more likely to allow Minutemen caravans in, and although ghouls were still banned from entering the city, they got by with trading outside the gate.

Travis was trying to push his way through the crowd to get to Nick, calling out to him. Nick met him halfway, and the radio host leaned in towards Nick's ear-receptors.

"I've just gotten word that Nate is at the alley, and that you'd know where it is. Piper is there, and said that the Major's in bad shape, and that you'd be greatly appreciated if you could make it there. That's all I know Nick, sorry I couldn't give you more." Travis informed the detective. Nick gave his thanks, and started towards the gate. The crowds had abandoned whispering for yelling. Accusations were flying, anyone from the institute to an act of God. Nick pushed his way through, ducking under more than one swing towards the only synth in Diamond City. A team of security guards rushed towards the crowd, corralling them back towards the marketplace. Danny Sullivan was by the gate, as usual. He saw Nick approaching, and gained a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Detective, we've been ordered by the mayor to lock down the city, but unfortunately, the wires allowing us to close the gate are damaged." As he spoke, one of the guards was sawing through one of the cables with a hacksaw. He sparked for a few moments, then fizzled out. "We'll need a few days to fix it, so I'm afraid I can't do anything to stop you."

Nick was impressed. Before Nate and the Minutemen had returned, Diamond City was in the iron grips of McDonough. The 'People's Army' as it was known as was beginning to make the people question McDonough's rules. Danny Sullivan was one of those people who didn't like McDonough, but had to follow his rules. Lately, Danny had been more rebellious, allowing refugees in, and circumventing the mayor on certain issues.

"Well, officer that truly is a shame," Nick said, "I do hope you manage to resolve this issue soon, otherwise who knows what ne'er do-wells might approach."

The two looked at each other for a moment before laughing. Nick left the gate of Diamond City, and began making his way towards the alley, the Minutemen First Company's main rest stop.

Unlike the other companies, the First didn't have a set number, or mission. Assignments were generally up to Nate or Preston, but occasionally members of the First would assign themselves missions. Cait and MacCready were the ones who did so the most often, but neither the General nor the Major minded, so it continued.

As for the alley, Hangman's Alley used to be a raider outpost, until Piper told Nate about it. Once he had investigated, he decided that he wanted it for himself. He wiped out the raiders over the course of one night, and most of them never even realized he was there until it was too late. After disposing of the raiders, Nate brought in the First Company, only twelve strong at the time, and members of the Second Company, who were renowned for their fortification talents. Hangman's Alley was turned into a fortress, and then some. While the raiders hadn't been able to get into the buildings that framed the alley, Nate and his men certainly were. What had once consisted of a narrow alleyway that was easy to defend quickly spread into a FOB. There were rooms for communications and briefings, an armoury, barracks, and even a bar. Nate had one of the floors turned into a room and office for himself. The last time Nick had been to the alley, the Minutemen were starting to move downwards, into the tunnels that ran underneath the streets. Nick didn't know what the purpose would serve, since most tunnels were collapsed, and those that weren't were filled with ghouls and other creatures.

From Diamond City to the Alley was about an hour's walk, and each time Nick went, it was a little less dangerous. Today, it was eerily silent. There were no signs of life in the streets, and if anyone was out scavenging, they were being quieter than a mouse. When Nick made it to the entrance of the Alley, he walked forward slowly with his arms raised. There was no need to provoke the men who would be on edge. As he approached the barricade, a young voice called out.

"Identify yourself civilian! This is a military outpost."

Before Nick could respond, he heard a loud smack.

"You moron. That's Nick Valentine. He's a friend of the Major. Piper called him over. Open the gate, numbskull." Nick recognized the voice as Lance Morgan, Nate's combat Medic. In a moment, the gate swung open, and Nick was ushered in.

Like the walk to the Alley, the compound was silent. Nick could see the members of Nate's squad huddled around each other, whispering. They saw Nick and turned to him. He almost flinched. They were covered in more soot and dirt than he had ever seen. Some of them had small cuts across their faces. Jun walked up to Nick and shook his hand.

"I'm glad you could make it. I know he's seen a lot in his time, and that explosion didn't do him any favours. Whatever he thought he had buried came back up." Jun paused, before hesitantly continuing, "I've never seen him like this, and I arguably know him better than most people do. He's hurting real bad, Nick, and I don't know how to help him"

It took a lot for a man to admit he couldn't do something, and that was thrice as true for any of the Untouchables. They were trained to be as self-reliant as they could, while still operating as a team. To seem them so helpless was shocking to Nick. He put a hand on Jun's shoulder.

"He's a tough man, Jun. He's had a shock he didn't think he'd ever have again, and he's suffering for it." Nick informed Jun, and by default, the squad. "But we'll help him to the best of our ability. Until he's back to himself though, you'll need MacCready here. Has anyone contacted him?"

The others averted their eyes, forcing a sigh out of Nick.

"Alright, Morgan, why don't you get MacCready on the horn and tell him that he's needed at the Alley to assume operational command." Nick had no idea what he was saying, in all honesty, but he was remembering the terminology that Nate had used several times.

Morgan nodded, and made his way to the radio room. The others dispersed, but Jun lingered a moment.

"It's all right Jun," He reassured Nate's first recruit, "We'll help him get better."

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Nick had no idea how Nate was going to get better. Piper had told him when he arrived that he had been sobbing when he was pulled into the Alley, but now he was non-responsive. According to the reporter, Nate had cried for fifteen minutes, and then suddenly stopped. He didn't react to movement, or sound. He just sat there, staring straight ahead. Nick had vague memories from a past life of the same thing happening to soldiers who just broke down. It was just Nick and Nate in his room. Piper had left to talk to Jun and others. Nick looked at his friend, and felt sorrow and pain for him.

Piper suddenly rushed through the door, a wild look in her eyes.

"Nick, Codsworth was at Bunker Hill. He had been leaving when the attack started, but the others don't know if he made it out or not."

That explained a lot, actually. Nick knew Codsworth was one of Nate's ties to his family, before it was taken from him. Witnessing another nuclear strike, along with potentially losing his link to his previous life, had shattered the man. Codsworth wasn't just Nates spy. He carried all the holotapes Nate had of his family. If those were gone, Nate would never recover, and that would mean so many horrible things for the Minutemen. Nick rose swiftly to his feet.

"Alright Piper, I'm heading out there, to see if I can find Codsworth, or at worst, his Chassis. I'm the only one who can survive out there. You stay with him. Morgan should have contacted RJ, and he'll be here before the weeks out."

"And Cait," Piper muttered, annoyed, "Cait's coming to see him."

Nick glared at her. "This isn't the time for your catfight. When he's responsive to outside stimuli, then you can argue about who gets him"

Piper blushed, but didn't say anything. Nick wasn't wrong. Nate was charming, charismatic, nice, and handsome. It wasn't a surprise that Piper or Cait felt attracted, but the rivalry that had begun from it was insane. The two argued over everything. If Piper liked someone, Cait hated them, unless Nate liked them too. If Cait hated something, Piper loved it, unless Nate hated it too. The two were fighting to see if they could gain the attention of a man whose dual focus was to rebuild the Minutemen, and find his son.

Nick stormed out of the Alley, a singular focus in his mind, bracing himself for the horrors of a immediate post-nuclear environment.

MMXVII

 _Authors Notes_

 _Right so the companion count at this point is basically everyone but Danse, who's out doing his brotherhood thing. And now, a love-triangle. I am so original, you should all bow before me. Anyway, Nick shows up, Nick and Piper start to figure out a plan, and we are now beginning the Black Codsworth Down arc of the story. Codsworth holds any holotape related to Nate's pre-war family, so the realization that all of it could be gone broke him even further, essentially putting him in a comatose state. I'm not sure how realistic that is, but it helps me with the plot, so I'm doing it. Anyway, we're going to get a glimpse of what's going on in Nate's head next chapter. I'm going to start writing it as soon as a post this chapter. I watched Hacksaw Ridge last night, so that's going to contribute to how the next chapter is written._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babsushka_


	9. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Piper paced back and forth in the room, not knowing how to help Nate. Yes, she liked him, _a lot_ , but he was still her friend, and she hated seeing him like this. He was sitting back in a recliner, gazing straight ahead. He'd sleep and wake up, but there was really no difference between the two, just whether or not his eyes were open. Morgan had hooked him up with an IV in order to give him nutrients and liquids, and according to Jun, Curie was also coming with MacCready and Cait, in order to serve as Nate's physician. Preston had been devastated to hear what happened, and was planning to come as soon as he could, but he still had to coordinate Minutemen across the Commonwealth. She looked back at Nate, and wondered what was going on in his head.

She wouldn't have liked the answer.

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 _The explosion threw Nate and Paul backwards. Smitty had no such luck, and was shredded in moments. The two Operators scrambled into a trench, but Nate fell onto a Chinese soldier. The commie started screaming, and reached for his knife, but Nate drove his elbow into the man's throat, crushing it. He gasped for several more moments before dying. Nate didn't see it happen. He was firing down the trench, dropping the reinforcements, while Paul tried to force the door to the bunker open. He finally got frustrated, and placed a directed charge on the door, blowing it in. Three soldiers were killed by the flying door. Paul shot another in the head, while the last one tried to surrender. Unfortunately for him, the Delta Operator's mission had been clear. No prisoners. Nate walked behind the man, who thought he was going to be secured. Instead, Nate slit his throat open._

 _Two figures rushed into the bunker. Nate and Paul were about to fire when a Texan accent called out._

" _Damn, boys, you really know how to clear a bunker quick."_

 _Nate sighed in relief, while the Paul lowered his weapon a fraction._

" _Shaun, you don't know how good it is to see you. What the hell happened? We were told this was going to be an easy insertion. Instead, our plane is blown out of the sky as soon as we hit the DP!?" Nate was keyed up on adrenaline, as were the others._

" _I dunno buddy. Wait, where's Smitty. He didn't land with us. Was he with y'all?" Shaun said as he looked around._

 _It was Paul who answered this time._

" _Smitty stepped on a mine. Ripped him to pieces." Paul then looked at the fourth member of the group. "How you doing kid? This is a hell of a first deployment, eh?"_

 _Mitch Vance was the newest member of the Delta Squad. He had been assigned to them fresh out of training, and this was his first combat experience. He was covered in mud and blood, and had a cut across his arm, but looked fine other than that._

" _Please, Sarge, my junior prom was more dangerous than this!" Mitch replied._

" _Atta boy, Vance," Paul said, "all right. We're one down, but we still have the explosives. We get to those guns, and we stop them from pounding our boys at Anchorage. Now remember, an entire Ranger company was deployed to the southern range, so let's not get outplayed by Captain Scott, Hoorah?"_

" _Hoorah!" came the combined response of the three other operators. They stacked up by the other door, and when Nate felt the tap on his shoulder, he stepped out, and kicked it, blowing it open. Mitch and Shaun swept through, and the 'thpp' that meant they had fired their suppressed rifles filled the room. Paul followed the duo, with Nate bringing up the rear. Six dead Chinese soldiers were all that remained from the quick breaching action._

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 _The tunnels that crisscrossed the mountains had originally been dug out by the American's, but after the invasion, the Chinese had expanded it immensely, rendering the maps they had been given useless. It took the operators close to an hour, and two dozen more dead soldiers before they found their first objective. All that stood between the Delta Operators and the command centre of the tunnels was a set of doors. Two guards from the Crimson Dragoons stood on guard at either side, but they couldn't see the Delta Operators sneaking up the hallway. With a quick series of hand gestures, Paul and Nate fired at the guards. While their armour allowed them to easily infiltrate even to most well defended base, when the stealth drive wasn't activated, they had one glaring weakness. The large glass dome they called a helmet. The jacketed rounds the operator's rifles used easily went through the glass, spraying the brains of the dragoons inside their own helmets. The soldiers moved up, and once more stacked on each side of the door. This time, Nate was behind Mitch, while Shaun was stacked on Paul. With a nod from Paul, Shaun cracked the door open, and rolled a flashbang in. After the distinctive pop and the sudden cries from inside the room, Shaun kicked the door down, and Nate and Mitch entered the command centre. Two guards were trying to orient themselves, but Nate shot them down quickly. Another took three shots to the chest from Mitch, while Paul had shot two officers. Shaun was wrestling on the ground with another officer, but Nate quickly put a bullet in the man's head. The operator nodded his thanks to Nate, who responded with a thumbs-up. Shaun quickly went to work on one of the terminals, sliding a hard -drive into it. Mitch was taking photos of the plans on the table, whole Nate and Paul were breaking anything that looked important. Once they had gotten everything they needed, they stacked all the bodies and items in the centre of the room, and Nate dropped a thermite grenade on the pile. The operators left without a word._

 _With a now updated map thanks to Shaun, the Delta soldiers were able to make their way to their second objective, which was the most important one. The large line of artillery batteries that was pounding the US lines at Anchorage. The longer the guns remained operational, the longer the front would exist. After General Ramon was removed by the Government, General Chase was appointed his successor of the Anchorage front. The man quickly went to work, and this strike was the first operation he had authorized. Once they exited the tunnels, they came face to face with the guns that were doing so much damage to the army. They were large 150mm field guns, and had a range of well over six kilometres. The plan wasn't to destroy the guns individually, but to place a line of charges on the ridge above, creating a massive rockslide which would not only destroy the guns, but cut off a vital supply route for the Chinese. The soldiers got to work, first by climbing the ridge, and dealing with any spotters they saw. Then, they began planting the explosives in the ground, at key points mapped out by the satellite images. Once they had planted all the explosives, they regrouped, and were about to make their way back to the tunnels when they were stopped._

 _Pouring out of the tunnels by the hundreds were Chinese soldiers, who were all looking around, presumably for the American commandos. One lucky soldier spotted them on the ridge above, and they all began shooting at the four soldiers._

" _Well, this ain't good is it Paul?" Shaun huffed out, after running further uphill._

" _No, Shaun, this isn't good. I'm so glad you've realized that" The sergeant retorted hotly._

 _The operators continued moving uphill, taking cover in boulders and gully's, before Mitch's voice rang out._

" _I see a cave up ahead!" He called, "And it doesn't look to be a part of the tunnel system!"_

 _Paul nodded to himself, "All right, Shaun, you make a run for the cave, and cover us. Mitch, you follow, then Nate, and then me. Hoorah?"_

" _Hoorah Sarge" Shaun replied, before taking off, zigzagging up the mountain, before sliding into the cave. After a moment, the sound a Fifty-Cal rifle sang out, and in the corner of his eye, Nate saw a cloud of pink mist._

 _Mitch was gone next, and was quickly in the cave. The anti-material rifle barked out another shot, and Nate was moving. As soon as he dove into the cave, the rifle fired again. A minute later, Paul was in the cave. He scrambled to the cave mouth, and pulled the detonator from his pouch._

" _Blowing the charges now. Here's hoping they don't dig us up two hundred years from now, all huddled together naked like idiots." With that inspiring speech, Paul pressed the detonator._

 _A series of explosions rang, and Nate could hear the screaming as the soldiers and their guns were buried under tonnes of rocks. The four operators waited for half an hour, expecting an avalanche to cover the cave mouth. Nothing happened. Cautiously, they exited the cave. Their mission had succeeded, the guns were destroyed, the supply route was buried, and they had killed several hundred Chinese soldiers in the blast. It had been a good day._

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Once Curie arrived, she began looking over Nate. She took blood samples, tested his reflexes, and even brought a machine that would scan his brain. Once that had been completed, it took almost two days for the doctor to get a diagnosis.

"He is reliving his past. That is why he is comatose." Was her simple explanation.

"I'm sorry, what?" MacCready managed to say.

"You see this area here?" Curie pointed towards a portion of Nate's brain that was lit up. "That is where all his memories are. He is accessing them, going through them. I think his subconscious is looking for a specific memory, in order to wake him, but it hasn't found it. He will most likely stay this way for a while. It may be a day, a week, or even years. But he should wake up."

The room was silent. It was Jun who spoke first.

"Preston's not going to like that. He needs Nate for negotiations everywhere. No offense Mac, but I don't see you as the diplomatic type." Jun pointed out. The sniper shrugged, not offended in the least.

It was Piper who then spoke up.

"What do you think he's remembering?" She asked, in a quiet voice.

Lance Morgan was in the corner, so they all had to turn to him when he answered.

"The war, most likely. Nothing good I'd imagine. I remember looking at one of the monuments for the war, and he would always stand in this one spot, resting his hand on the names." Morgan had said the words no one wanted to hear.

If only he knew how right he was.

MMXVII

 _Authors Note_

 _Right! So this isn't the Hacksaw Ridge inspired part. That's the chapter after the next one. But in the next chapter, Nick does some searching, to complete operation Black Codsworth Down, and meets some interesting people in the ruins of Bunker Hill. And also, if I write entire passages in italics, it means that it takes place in the past. Not like pre-war past all the time, but in the past as in before the chapter is written._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	10. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Although Nick was synthetic, he could feel the searing heat as he approached Bunker Hill. Even a man in the world's toughest Hazmat suit would've melted under the remnants of the radiation. Jun had told Nick that three mini-nukes had impacted Bunker Hill, but that Old Man Stockton had several for sale, and that the detonation would've triggered them. That meant that Bunker Hill was hit with the force of about a ton of Semtex. For six blocks in any direction, there was nothing. No buildings, ruins, scrap, anything. Past that point, the burns were intense. Bricks were charred so thoroughly that some fell apart once touched. If Codsworth hadn't been vaporised, which Nick believed to be true, he would be on the outskirts of the six-block radius. That was still a lot of ground to cover, and Nick knew there would be no resting for the next few days. Not that he really needed it, but he was getting old. Sometimes doing nothing was good for his circuits.

Nick spent three days in the area around Bunker Hill, and had no luck finding Codsworth. Every glimpse of metal he spotted meant that Nick would begin searching for the Mr. Handy, and that meant anywhere between five minutes of digging to a few hours. Nothing turned up. Nick was close to giving up when help arrived. Nick had only heard about Nate's adventure with the Cabot's second hand, but when he saw the ghoul wearing combat armour and a green beret stroll up towards the Synth Detective, he knew it could only be Edward Deegan. The ghoul, although he served the Cabot family, was a good man, and if Nate liked him, Nick knew there was a good reason. He started to see it once the ghoul had arrived.

"Mr. Valentine, I'm Edward Deegan. When Mr. Cabot heard of the tragedy that occurred here he allowed me to take some personal leave to come to the area. I haven't heard anything about Major Thiel's condition. Is he alright?" The ghoul asked, in the waspish voice all ghouls had.

"The major is alive, but his eyebot is missing. That's why I'm here, to look for him." Nick informed the mercenary, who blinked in surprise.

"Codsworth? I saw him just before the blast." Nick had never thought he'd hear such good news, "He's gone down to the Warwick Farms, in order to check on the family after their old man was found to be a synth. Apparently, his workers lynched him, and when he didn't die, it proved them right. They shot him after that. Cods told me that the kids like his stories, so he went to offer his support."

Nick thanked the ghoul, and informed him that he would extend his courtesies to Nate, and to tell him to visit at some point. He then set off in a brisk pace towards the alley, wanting to find a radio as soon as possible. It took Nick the rest of the day to get back to the alley, and when he did, he contacted the radioman at the Castle straight away.

"Tommy, it's Nick Valentine, I need you to put out a call for Codsworth to the alley on all available channels you can find, or hijack. It's instrumental to the recovery of Major Thiel." Nick all but demanded, using a voice he didn't know he had in him.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Valentine. Right away." Came the response from the castle.

Nick stood still for a moment, not quite comprehending where the authority in his voice had come from.

"Human-Valentine was a cop, Nicky. He knew how to take command of a situation. That's what just happened." Piper was leaning against the doorway behind him, and it looked like she hadn't slept in the three days he had been gone. "Sometimes we forgot things about ourselves that don't seem important until they're needed. It happens to all of us."

"And how much of myself- of Nick- have I forgotten? I've lived two lifetimes in the Commonwealth, but aside from my skills, I don't remember anything of my past. Of Nick's past." Nick said bitterly, "I don't know who I am, or what I am, and I only exist because someone stuck a cop's brain into my head!"

Nick was looking away now. He heard a soft gasp, but assumed it was Piper's shock at his confession. A hand settled on his shoulder, but he still didn't look.

"You're Nick Valentine, the amazing Clockwork Dick, and you're one of the Undaunted Few I know in the commonwealth." Nick whipped around at the sound of Nate's voice, and despite himself, replied to the jab.

"It's Synth Detective, jackass." But as he was speaking, he enveloped Nate into a bearhug.

Nate held him tightly as well, before detaching himself. Nick kept a grip on the man's shoulders.

"How are you awake? When did you wake up? Do you know what caused it? Or what woke you up?" The questions came out rapidly, and Nick cursed himself internally, not knowing if he might trigger something again.

Nate got a far-away look in his eyes as he looked at a map of Minutemen settlements.

"That wasn't the first time I saw a town destroyed by nuclear fire, and I'm not talking about the big bombs." Nate's voice was soft, but it conveyed his sadness well enough. "You know I was a soldier, and you know I saw action. You don't know how much I actually saw. A walk down memory lane reminded me what it was I fought for, and what I fight for now. Let me tell you a story"

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 _The American base at Anchorage was alive. Soldiers were celebrating the destruction of all the mountain artillery. The ranger company took minimal losses, but the Smitty's death weighed heavily upon Nate. The operators hadn't been able to recover his body, and for all they knew, it was being desecrated by the Chinese at the very moment all the others were cheering and yelling. Nate sat on top of the Delta barracks, which was buried into the ground._

" _All the others are getting drunk in the dugout son. Why aren't you with them?" A voice rang out behind Nate. It was a voice he knew well._

" _Colonel Nelson, sir! I didn't hear you approach." As he turned, he received another shock._

 _Standing next to the Delta Force commanding officer was none other than General Constantine Chase, the supreme commander of the Anchorage Campaign._

" _I'm aware you didn't hear me approach, Nate, but I asked why you weren't with the others, getting drunk?" Nelson's voice was light, and filled with mirth. Much like the man. General Chase nodded in approval of the question._

" _I'm thinking about Smitty, sir. Staff Sergeant Michael Smithson, general. He died during our raid on the gun emplacements. We had to leave his body behind. I'm incredibly uncomfortable with the thought, sirs." Nate spoke as he always did, without any fanfare._

 _Colonel Nelson looked down at the mention of Smitty, while General Chase looked mortified._

" _We left one of our boys in enemy territory? That won't stand. Sergeant, if I gave you the resources, could you retrieve Smitty's body for burial?" The general spoke with such certainty all Nate could do was nod. "Good, tomorrow morning, if you aren't hungover, come to my tent, and we'll discuss the best way to bring your buddy home."_

 _The General and the colonel then walked off, presumably to continue patrolling the base, and bolstering morale. Nate was left to his silence once more. His thoughts went south, back towards Boston, where Nora was. His last night before shipping north had been amazing. They had started with a nice dinner, talked about their future, and then walked to the park. They didn't leave the park that night, and that was probably Nate's fondest memory of that day. He was dragged out of his thoughts, almost literally, when Shaun grabbed him and yanked him into the dugout. Mitch handed him a beer, and Nate knew he would wake up with a pounding headache the next day._

 _XXXXX_

 _When Nate entered General Chase's command tent, he was instantly saluted by an MP. The guard escorted him to a section that had a thick curtain around it, before poking his head inside. He then lifted the curtain, and ushered Nate inside. General Chase, Colonel Nelson, and Major Howell, the Ranger commander. He was ordered to take a seat, before a briefing began._

" _Now, sergeant, from what I understand of your AAR, Staff Sergeant Smithson triggered a mine? The blast was what killed him correct?" Major Howell asked him._

" _That's correct, sir. The mine was what killed Smitty- I mean Sergeant Smithson." Nate stuttered over the nickname._

 _The major didn't look impressed. "So there is every possibility that the body was destroyed by the blast correct?"_

 _Nate actually had the stones to glare at the major._

" _No, sir," He said, through gritted teeth, "I clearly state in the next sentence of my AAR, that while the body was damaged by the explosion, it was still intact when we left it."_

" _But you were in a combat situation," The major pressed, "You could've made a mistake."_

 _The major looked at General Chase. "I'm sorry sir but I can't commit my rangers to recovering a body that may or may not still exist."_

 _Nate was furious, and from the looks of it, so was Nelson. The colonel spoke up then, and from that day forth, he would have Nate's enduring respect._

" _Well then, Howell, I suppose it's a good thing I don't actually need your men." He looked over to General Chase, who was watching with interest, "With your permission, sir, I'd like to deploy my full Delta company to the area, in order to retrieve operator Smithson's body."_

 _Major Howell snorted. "An entire company for one body? It's a waste of resources."_

 _"Four of my men managed to destroy an emplacement, kill a command staff, cut off a supply route, kill several hundred Chinese soldiers, AND walk back to base in the time it took an entire Ranger company to take one emplacement. Even the marines did a better job than your boys, and I'm an army soldier admitting that!" Nelson shot back._

 _The major hadn't been expecting such a vicious rebuke, but before he could respond, General Chase finally spoke._

" _While I can't order the entire Delta complement out to retrieve the body, I can make it a voluntary mission, with no troop limit. You can take as many men volunteer, all under your command, whichever branch they come from."_

 _Colonel Nelson nodded brightly, "Thank you sir, I'd like to go announce the mission now, if it's alright with you."_

 _The general dismissed the Delta operators, and kept Major Howell behind for some purpose. Nate went to tell the other operators about the mission, while Nelson went to 'go find some bigger help.' Whatever that meant. The entire Delta troop, all one-hundred and twenty of them, volunteered for the mission. Colonel Nelson came back with forty mechanized cavalry, all in power armour. Another sixty marines volunteered for the mission, citing the fact that an American had been left behind wasn't something they would stand for. That was the strike force that would retrieve Smitty._

 _Intelligence revealed that a Chinese division had set up in the valley where Smitty's body was, which meant it was in their hand. Two thousand Chinese soldiers would be waiting for them, which meant that they would need to strike hard and fast to get him home. The strike force set out in a convoy of APC's and trucks. They dismounted about a mile from the mouth of the valley where the Chinese were entrenched. The soldiers quickly gathered up into their units, and Nate was at the front, waiting for Colonel Nelson to arrive. When the colonel did arrive, he had a look of annoyance on his face. For a moment, Nate thought the mission had been cancelled. What followed was worse._

" _The president heard about the mission, and has decided that the Chinese division is a bigger issue than getting Smitty home. We've been told to push the Chinese from the valley, and pretty much the state. Four hundred more men are inbound to reinforce us so that we can establish a foothold. Another twenty thousand are inbound, fresh from training. We've been informed that the Chinese presence will increase as well." The colonel's voice betrayed his distaste._

" _Well, crap." Was Paul's input._

" _That's BS!" Came from Mitch._

" _Oh, for the love of-" Shaun announced._

 _Nate was furious, but aside from the fire inside of him, he didn't betray any emotions._

" _Sir, are you telling me that two hundred and twenty men are going to establish a defensive front against two thousand, and possibly more, Chinese soldiers?" Nate questioned._

" _Yes, Sergeant Thiel, I am. Also, considering Captain Morrison's death two weeks ago, you've been given the rank of brevet captain, from General Chase himself. You are now my second. Congratulations." Nelson's voice was filled with pride when he announced Nate's promotion. "Now, someone spread the word about Captain Thiel's promotion, while we discuss how this is going to work."_

 _Paul, Shaun, and Mitch shot off in separate directions, starting with the Delta men, and moving to the others. Nate and Colonel Nelson went to his APC, at which point his squad, and the drivers, cleared out, giving them privacy._

" _It's bad, Nate." Nelson began, "I've been ordered to command this operation from the rear, which is why you got your promotion. They need someone to pin this on if the fighting goes bad, and that someone will be you. General Chase promised me that if we get Smitty's body, he'll pull Delta out, but chances are we won't find him in time now that the missions changed. We need to dig in for the night, let our reinforcements arrive, then assault the valley. Move out, captain. Second platoon is yours."_

 _XXXXX_

 _By the time the reinforcements arrived, the Chinese were aware of the Americans presence. An FOB had been constructed hastily, and while the men settled into camp routines, the officers planned the assault on the valley. It was decided that Nate would lead two hundred men to make the first push. Twenty of them would be Mechanized Cavalry. The rest would be made up from the Delta second platoon, the marine volunteers, and army personnel. The second wave would be led by Captain Michaels, the only other combat officer present. He would lead the rest of the men, letting Nate and his men rest and recover._

 _Nate gathered his men, and took the time to talk to all his squad leaders. He knew the Delta men. Sergeant Monroe was an older man, who had fought in the resource wars. Sergeant Darnum was deceptively small, but she could hit harder than most people. Lieutenant Denier was a good man, and bore Nate no ill will for being promoted over him. And then there was Paul. Sergeant Major Paul Valleti. Paul, Nate, and Shaun grew up together in Boston, and had all enlisted at the same time, right out of High School, in 2267, when the war began. They went through basic together, joined Delta together, and had fought together for ten years._

 _The marines were a different story. For all sixty of them, there was only Gunnery Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery. The gunnery sergeant was General Chase's right hand with the infantry. He had led the strike force that eliminated the eastern gun battery, despite losing half his men when their chutes failed. Granted, there was a cadre of corporals who carried out his orders, but the Gunny was on his own._

 _The Mech's were led by Lieutenant Peterson, and Nate didn't know that much about him, other than he was an appointee. His men didn't like him that much, and while before he had treated Nate with an air of superiority, he deferred to his leadership now. Nate was certain the man had never actually had to fire his weapon since he arrived. Corporal Montez, one of the mechs, verified his belief. This would be the lieutenants first combat experience, despite being in Anchorage for three months._

 _It was midnight when the force set out. The march to the valley mouth took two hours. The men slowly crept in to the valley, tense, and ready for action. Five minutes in, Nate's earpiece cackled alive._

" _Uh, Captain? This is Mitch. I just found Smitty." The operator told him._

 _Nate was stumped. "What?" He said, "that's not right. He should be a mile in. Wait there, I'm coming to you."_

 _Nate hurried ahead to where Mitch, Paul, Shaun, and some marines were gathered. True enough, Smitty was propped up against the rock face of the valley._

" _Permission to retrieve the body, sir?" Mitch asked._

" _Granted." Was Nates quick reply. He motioned the others onwards. They had advanced about twenty paces when the shooting started._

 _Nate didn't see Mitch Vance die, but Gunnery Sergeant Montgomery did, and it was brutal. It turned out that the rock face wasn't actually the rock face, but a bunker. Smitty had been propped up against the gun slit, covering from sight. As soon as the body had begun to shift, the gunner opened fire. The large rounds ripped through Smitty, and then Mitch, almost bisecting the kid. All around them, guns started firing. From above, from the flanks, and from ahead. Thirty men died in the initial ten seconds, cut down by gunfire. Despite their inadequate lieutenant, the mechs recovered first, and began plastering the valley walls with heavy fire. Gatling lasers, miniguns, and flame-throwers began targeting the soldiers who exposed themselves._

 _One of the mechanized cavalry advanced the bunker wall, before shoving the muzzle of his flamer into the gun slit. The screams had started instantly, and ahead of him, Nate saw part of the wall blow out. Paul and Shaun pounced. They were inside the breach in a flash, and the report of gunfire began just as quickly. They exited a second later, pleased with themselves. All around them, the other soldiers were dashing for cover. Grenades were tossed up the valley walls, and well placed shots sent some of the Chinese tumbling down. Delta operators were scrambling up the valley, trying to find the emplacements the Chinese were in._

 _Nate watched as Denier slammed into one of the commies, jamming his bayonet into the man's gut. Monroe had hit one with a haymaker, before putting a bullet in his head. Nate himself had rammed the barrel of his rifle into the throat of a soldier, crushing his larynx. At the same time, Darnum was killed by crossfire, and his body shuddered as he was filled with bullets. An operator to Nate's right got his brains blown out, and his blood sprayed all over his face. A group of marines exploded into pieces as a rocket hit them, spreading blood and bones all around them. One unfortunate soldier died when the femur of one of the marines went straight through his throat, leading him to bleed out in seconds._

 _Nate threw himself behind some cover, and opened up the channel to Colonel Nelson._

" _Colonel, this is Thiel! We've been ambushed and are getting torn up here. I either need reinforcements, or I need to pull out. Advise!" Nate almost screamed. There was a brief static feedback before Nelson responded._

" _Affirmative Captain Thiel, second wave is inbound, ETA five minutes. Hold on soldier." Nelson fizzled out after the transmission, but it was all Nate needed._

 _Nate fired into a cluster of commies who were charging down the mountain, and three of them went down to his shooting. Another two were killed by headshots, while the last few were burned alive by a flame thrower. Even though they were still burning, a few tried to rush Nate and his men. Most were killed before they could reach them, but one managed to latch on to Paul, who tried to shake him off. The distraction was all that was needed. A well-placed shot hit Paul's webbing, where his thermite grenade was. Nate didn't know if the placement was intentional or accidental, but the grenade started burning through Paul's vest, and his death was slow and painful, one burning man grappling with him as he himself burned alive._

 _In ten minutes, Nate's squad had gone from four to two, and his strike force had suffered immense losses. Despite the fact that more men were coming, Nate had to make the practical decision. He reopened his comm channel with all his men._

" _Fall back!" He called out, "Fall Back to the staging point!"_

 _The men ran in droves. Nate could see medics dragging wounded soldiers, while others helped their friends out of the kill zones. It was easily the most brutal day Nate had witnessed since his arrival in Anchorage, and it was a memory that would be seared into his brain for the rest of his life._

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Nate finished his story to silence. Piper spoke first.

" _That's_ what pulled you out of your coma? Blue, how are you even sane?"

Nate gave her a look that made her both hot and bothered and simply bothered.

"It was more than just that, when I fought in Anchorage, I didn't fight for the American dream, or even to reclaim Alaska. I fought for my squad. Smitty, Paul, Mitch, Shaun. All of them. By the end of the campaign, I'd be the only one left." Nate trailed off towards the end, but clearly didn't have much more to say. Or so Nick and Piper thought.

"I've spent a lot of time helping the Minutemen become the army that the Commonwealth needs. I've spent months trying to track down Kellog, only for him to keep slipping away. I've lost my wife to him, and my son. I can't get Nora back, but Shaun? I can _and_ I will get him back. But there's a threat in between him. The Gunner's. They commited an act I haven't seen since the war, and they need to pay for it. Let them think they won a victory be destroying Bunker Hill."

Nate's voice went cold then.

"But when the sun goes down, and the Gunner's think they're safe, that's when I'll be there. Patrols will vanish. Leaders will be killed, and they won't be able to do anything to stop me. They'll start surrendering in droves, begging to be kept safe from me. It won't help them. They'll learn to fear me the same way the Chinese did. Shaun died saving my life in Alaska, and I went off the rails after it. I gained a nickname amongst the Chinese soldiers. Do you know what it was? Shōugē zhě. It means the reaper. So let them fear the reaper."

MMXVII

 _Authors Note_

 _It's 3:33. I went to sleep and woke up specifically to write this chapter. I hope I did the horrors of war justice, but I doubt it very much. Nate's on the war path, out for blood and vengeance. Codsworth the Robutler lives! Nick Valentine is a sad puppy. As for the Mandarin, if I made a mistake, I apologize, it came from google. Leave a review, and let me know what you think. Also, feel free to PM me with ideas, concerns, and more that you have for the story. If you want, write me a good character, with a realistic background, and PM it to me, and they might turn up in this story at some point._

 _Vonok_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	11. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

The members of the Untouchables all swarmed around Nate as soon as they saw him. He greeted each of them personally, with handshakes, hugs, and a surprising peck on the cheek from Vanessa Hale. Nate froze instantly, clearly uncomfortable, but it wasn't the first time Vanessa had done it, they were just rare. Normally he didn't react when women did things like this to him, but the memories he had relived included ones of Nora, and that brought a sense of guilt. He had been in the Commonwealth for a year, and he still hadn't found his son. He then set off towards the comms room. He had been out of action for about five days, and because of it, he needed to get on top of matters. He managed to raise Preston on the radio.

"General Garvey, this is Major Thiel, reporting in."

"Jesus Christ! Nate? What's your status, soldier?" Came the general's enthusiastic reply. Nate just shook his head in silent amusement.

"I'm alright, sir. A bit of a harrowing experience that induced a coma and flashed my memories before my eyes. But I'm operational, and ready to take the fight to the gunners." Nate told his boss.

"I understand, but SOP, which-by the way- you created, dictates that after an event like this, the soldier in question takes a mandatory two-week leave. I'm ordering you back to Sanctuary to take that leave. I'll expect you here by the weekend. That's four days, plenty of time for you. Settle your affairs and come home." Preston was off the radio in a flash.

Nate was dumbstruck. He hadn't been expecting a mandatory leave, especially not from Preston. Unfortunately for him, RJ, Piper and Nick heard the conversation, so there was no way he was ducking out of it. The look RJ gave him confirmed it. It wasn't very often that the sniper followed Minutemen protocol, mostly because he was often on his own, but when he did, he did it extremely well. MacCready was out of the room in a flash, and before Nate could chase after him, he heard MacCready shouting that 'the major got some R&R, and that Mac would still be in charge.' Nate sighed and went up to his room.

XXXX

Unlike the rooms most minutemen officers had, Nate's was very spartan, if not for the wall filled with guns. He had a bed, a bedside table, a desk, and a small couch to read reports in. The wall was a different matter. Nate had learned basic gun maintenance in boot camp for the army. Delta training had taken it to another level, where he could make crude, but efficient parts for his gun I the field. His year with the DIA had honed his maintenance skills even further, to the point where he could use limited resources to make the parts he needed to keep his guns in top condition. He hadn't thought it to be a very special skill before the bombs dropped, but he had learned the importance of upgrading weapons to their potential quickly in the Commonwealth.

He'd sent Codsworth all around the Commonwealth, mapping as he went. On certain trips, he disabled the Mr. Handy's personality subroutine, and sent him to trade for materials, before re-activating the butlers amusing persona. When Nate had rescued Preston and the Quincy survivors, he had quickly built a friendship with Sturges. The mechanic was a genius at learning to build new things, and was even better at teaching his trade to those who were willing to learn. Nate and Sturges had founded MinuteArms, the business that made weapons for the Minutemen. Nate had made it clear from the get-go that the Minutemen wouldn't supply their own weapons. Nate knew that if the Minutemen became something he didn't like, Sturges would pull out from business with them. Of course, the Minutemen had hundreds, possibly thousands of stockpiled weapons from across the commonwealth, but the weapons that MinuteArms made were of a superior quality.

Nate's weapons surpassed even the best MinuteArms guns. Rifles, shotguns, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, revolvers, and semi-automatics lined the walls. Nate had used each weapon at least once, but the one gun that held his heart was the M4A6, the assault rifle he had used in Anchorage. Technically, when the bombs dropped, Nate was retired, but unofficially, he was still an active member of Delta Force, but was on an extended leave to help raise his son. Nate had kept the rifle in an airtight case under his closest, and when he emerged from Vault 111 two centuries later, he was informed by Codsworth that the gun was still there.

The other of his beloved weapons was the SIG Sauer P220, another memento from his past. It was never standard issue in Delta Force, or any of them for the matter, but the stopping power of the gun, as well as Nate's proficiency with it, meant that Colonel Nelson had let the matter slide. It had been a well-known fact that with a P220, Nate Thiel could clear out a bunker faster than most men with assault rifles could. It had been one of the reasons he had been seconded to DIA SOG/SAD.

This was the first time since he had worked with them that Nate thought about the DIA. He had been as much of a patriot as the others, and never objected to the operations he was sent on, but working with the DIA had been something different. SOG/SAD was the Special Operations Group/ Special Activities Division, or the paramilitary arm of the intelligence agency. Most of SOG/SAD had been made up of former special forces, especially Delta, so Nate fit in quite well. Once he had served his year with them, Nate had been told after the war was won, he would have been recruited to the DIA. He wasn't sure what he would've been like as a spy, but the thought had intrigued him at the time. At least before he was sent back to war, after which he had completely forgotten about it.

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Nate shook himself out of his stupor, and began packing his things. His M4 was carefully taken down from the wall, and laid out on his desk, with the P220 following shortly. Four magazines for his rifle were stacked, while seven pistol clips were lined up underneath, not including the ones that would be loaded into the weapons. From the chest at the foot of his bed came more supplies, including food, water, bandages, and Stimpaks. The next thing was the cloaks. They had been MacCready's idea, once he saw how well Nate could blend into the environment. The cloaks were made from ballistic fibres, and were woven together is a motley of colours. They couldn't be used by just anybody like a stealth-boy could, however. The myriad of colours blended in to certain environments, and for someone like Nate, meant that he could pass almost invisibly through many areas. The Untouchables had many cloaks for many different areas, but normally only carried one extra with them.

The last and final thing he prepared was his armour. Originally, Nate had worn a modified combat vest, but with Sturges' help, and a lot of caps and hours spent finding rare materials, Nate had managed to create a new body armour for himself. Made up of small, oblong trauma plates, the armour was weaved together like scales, giving Nate more flexibility and manoeuvrability than he had expected. The under-suit he wore was made of Aero-Foam, which was extremely durable, and allowed him to move silently. The rubber soles made him quieter, and gave him more grip when he was in slippery places.

Nate stared at his wall of weapons for a few minutes, trying to figure out if he needed anything else. He decided he didn't and sunk into his couch, to catch his thoughts for a few minutes. Unfortunately for Nate, he didn't have that luxury.

"You moron, you don't have anything for long range encounters. What happens if you run into a sniper who can shoot halfway decent, and all you've got is your M4 and a pea-shooter."

MacCready was as blunt as usual, but Nate appreciated it. Some of the others, like Piper and Nick, were eyeing him cautiously, making sure he was stable.

"Okay, first, I'm going to start with the part of that sentence that not only annoyed me the most, but hurt me the most." Nate announced dramatically, to MacCready's surprise. "My sidearm is not a 'pea-shooter.' Just like you can accurately put a bullet in a man's head from two-hundred yards away with a rifle, I can accurately put a bullet in a man's head twenty yards away, _while_ I'm being shot at, with my pistol. Secondly, you are a genius RJ. I knew I was forgetting something, I just couldn't place it."

Nate rose quickly, ignoring the dizziness he felt, and moved to the gun-wall. He began combing up and down his rifles, trying to find the right one. MacCready stood behind him to the right, ready to help if needed. His eyes landed on one of his more extensively modified DKS-501's. It had a 25X scope, an extra-long barrel, a sturdy bipod, and a rubber butt, which dampened the recoil immensely. It easily had a 2500-yard range, and it was light enough that Nate wouldn't be slowed by it. He placed it on his table, and grabbed three magazines for his webbing, and another to be loaded into the rifle, if the time came. He locked it on to the side of the rifle with a powerful magnet. Then, he stopped to admire his gear. He was packed.

That meant it was time for a briefing of the Untouchables. Nate had noticed that when they had heard of his injury, many of them came to the alley, bringing trainees and candidates with them. While he wasn't happy with the new guys seeing him in a weak position, he also knew that it reinforced the point that Nate had driven across all his trainees- No one is invincible, just find a way to beat them. The gunners very nearly had beat Nate, but privately, he wondered if he was indeed un-killable. It didn't make sense how he had survived so long with very few permanent reminders to show. He assumed that there was a higher power looking out for him and left it at that.

When Nate ordered a briefing, the mess building was cleared rapidly. The veteran members of First Company sat closer to Nate, while the recruits and candidates sat in the back away from him. He clambered onto one of the mess tables, and cleared his throat loudly. The company hushed up. There were about thirty of them here, not including recruits, which meant all but one squad had shown up.

"If you haven't heard by now, I've been given mandatory leave. That means while you lot are out slogging it the mud, and digging through the dirt, I'll be over at sanctuary, having barbeques every night, and sleeping like a baby while getting fat." Nate decided to start with some humour. It worked, judging by the chuckles, but he pushed on. "However, before I leave to enjoy myself, I do have some assignments for all of you. Alpha Squad will be going to the Castle, to oversee training, and find out if any of them have the potential to join the First. Bravo will be heading to the Slog, which has demanded that a new squad be sent to garrison, due to racial slurs against the ghouls. I'll be investigating that case personally. Charlie will go to Sunshine Tidings, because I've decided I want it converted into a rest stop. Elements of the Second Company will be waiting for you there, to assist with construction. Delta squad will stay here for your rotation at the alley. Finally, Echo will be going to Diamond City, just because I want McDonough sweating." That brought a few more chuckles out. "Any questions?"

When none were placed forward. Nate nodded to himself. He was content to leave the First Company now, even if he didn't want to. He said his goodbyes, shook hands with many men, and set off, first towards Oberland Station, then to Greygarden. He spent the night at Greygarden, and then began travelling up towards the Drumlin Diner. He was about a mile from the diner when he felt an odd feeling pass over him. He knelt to check the ground, and a round slammed into the tree next to him. He threw himself down, and rolled to the side. Nate briefly wondered if the was MacCready, testing him, but threw the thought aside. This was most likely a Gunner sniper, and they were dangerous.

MMXVII

 _Authors Note_

 _So. Stuff happened. No flashbacks this chapter, but we did get a good idea of what the Minutemen First Company is like. I also explained the cloaks that they wear more in-depth. It's not stealth tech, like the stealth-boy, but simply good old-fashioned cloth, and men who can hide. Nate's officer room is filled with guns, and the sniper rifle I had him grab, the DKS-501, is the name of the canon sniper rifle that appears in Fallout, Fallout 2, 3 and New Vegas. I wrote a sniping scene a few chapters ago, but I really want to write a sniper duel, so that's what I'm doing. Leave reviews, or PM me what you think._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	12. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Nate dropped to the ground and rolled towards a cluster of boulders. He shrugged his backpack off and grabbed the DKS-501. He ripped the magazine off the magnet, and loaded it into the rifle. Then he sat still. He wanted to see if he could bait the sniper into wasting a few shots into the boulder, to get a general idea of his area. Unfortunately, the sniper was too well trained, and he didn't take the bait. Nate looked around to see if he could find an advantage, and it didn't take him long to find it. He had travelled this route many times, and knew the landscape very well. Two hundred yards to his right, and back along the river, was an old drainage pipe, that ran another hundred yards, where it came up into an old water filtration tower. Nate would be able to get into a solid position from there, unable to be flanked, and only one entrance in. The problem was making it there.

Nate sat behind the boulder for five minutes, trying to figure out how to get to the drainage pipe from where he was. He had no idea if the sniper had a spotter or not, which limited his options a fair bit. So, Nate did something so incredibly stupid he was surprised when it worked. He repacked the DKS, pulled his M4, and sprinted out of cover, firing a few bursts as he ran. He made it about eighty yards when the round caught him right in the chest. He felt it slam into his chest, and despite his armour taking the round, he spun wildly, and rolled down to the bank of the river. Then, he stayed still again, sprawled out, face down, in the mud. He kept his breath shallow, to avoid his chest rising and falling.

He stayed in the mud for an hour, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. As the hour mark passed, he crawled forward fifteen feet. It took him another hour. Then another fifteen feet. Another hour. By the time he made it to the drainage tunnel, he had been shot at once more, so the sniper knew he was alive. He scrambled into to tunnel, and heard one more shot ping off the metal. The good news was that he doubted the sniper knew where the drain led to. He was hoping the man just assumed he had escaped into a small, collapsed drain to avoid the gunfire. Nate made his way further into the tunnel, and ended up beneath the water tower. He had found this spot five months ago, and had made MacCready turn it into a sniper's den. While it wasn't the quality of what some of the Minutemen's engineers of the second company could do, it was still decent. There was a small cot inside the base of the tower, and above, a 360-degree firing slit went around the curve of the towers, supported with a wooden firing platform, made of good, sturdy wood. There was no stove, or anything that would make sound. Nate quietly opened a packet of jerky, and chewed on it. He was filthy, but alive, so he was happy. Nate found a bucket of water, which was murky-green, and washed his arms in them. The rest he left dirty. It would be difficult to spot his face if it was covered in black mud. He checked his weapons, and cleaned any parts that had gotten dirty during his mad dash and subsequent crawl. Then, he grabbed the rifle and hauled himself onto the firing platform. There was no ladder, so Nate had to pull himself up. Once he was set, he softly lowered the trap door covering the hole in the centre of the platform, and pulled out a pair of binoculars.

Nate knew the shot had come from the north, but now he had to narrow it down even further. He closed his eyes and thought about the moments leading up to the first shot being fired. When he had lowered himself because of his unease, the bullet had flown over head. But had it come from the east or the west? He was certain that he had heard it impact to his right, so the shot had come from the west, but when he thought about the shots that followed, he wasn't so sure.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered to himself, as he realized what was wrong, "Those crafty bastards."

He wasn't wrong. The first shot had come from the west, but the one that had caught his chest-plate had come from the east. He wasn't dealing with one sniper, but two. The shots that had been fired as he crawled had come from east and west, and thinking back on it, some had impacted within seconds of each other. He hadn't noticed it at the time, but he knew it now. He would have to find both snipers and take them out in rapid succession. Nate opened his eyes, and moved towards the eastern-face of the tower. He began slowly sweeping across the landscape, looking for anything that stood out. Every minute or so, he would lower the binoculars, both to prevent a gleam from escaping, and to allow his eyes to rest. It took him twenty minutes, but he found the first sniper. He was a good shot, but obviously not very experienced. He had built a firing platform on top of an old truck trailer, and despite the distance, he was still pretty visible, even to the naked eye.

The second sniper was probably the senior one. Nate looked for an hour, sweeping across the western horizon, but he still couldn't spot the shooter. He had built a blind, and had hidden it well. So, Nate decided the best action was to force a response. Nate found the big thick block of wood that would be used to stabilise his rifle. He placed a blanket on top of it, and then his backpack at the front. He rested his rifle on the backpack, and lined up his shot.

The DKS-501 had a range of about 1200 metres, due to the 338 Lapua rounds it used. This moron wasn't even four hundred from Nate. He had a small radio with him, and was crouched nearby, talking into it rapidly. Nate didn't give him the chance to finish what he was saying. The shooting platform had a thick layer of Acoustic foam that MacCready had found somewhere, so the report from his rifle wouldn't travel further than maybe forty metres. Nate's shot caught the eastern sniper in the ribcage, and Nate knew he wouldn't survive. The round would've shattered the ribs, spreading the bone throughout his body. As soon as Nate saw where the shot had landed, he had flipped his position around, and was looking to the west. He looked, and looked, and looked, and then a small motion caught his eye. Waving slightly in the wind was an antenna. The type a portable radio used. He had his location, just over 600 metres.

Despite knowing where the sniper was, it took Nate almost ten minutes to find his firing emplacement. It was impeccably placed. To the right of the radio antenna was a large tree, with massive roots protruding out of the hill it was on. Nate barely caught the glint of the scope. Nestled in the roots, most likely in a position that had been dug out, was the sniper. He was scanning to the north of Nate's position, having no clue where the shot had come from. Then his scope swung back to the tunnel, where he expected to see Nate bolt for. He didn't get the chance to wonder why his target hadn't moved. Nate fired a shot, and to his amazement, in went through the scope, straight into the man's brain. He had never been able to place a shot like that. After a moment of being dumbfounded, Nate recovered. He pulled his Pip-Boy out of his bag, and wrote a detailed note about the position hidden in the tree roots. The eastern platform got one sentence. ' _the idiot didn't try to hide_.'

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It took Nate another two days to make it to Sanctuary. He had avoided all caravan routes, and went in a wide sweep to the west. As a result, when he stumbled into Sanctuary, he was covered in mud, looked like he hadn't slept for more than two hours, and had a large round stuck in the plates of his armour. One of the guards on duty almost shot him, fearing he was a raider, but the other, more senior guard was smarter.

"Musket!" The guard called out, waiting to see if he would shoot someone or not.

"Freedom" Nate called back.

He heard the younger guard whisper-yell to the senior guard.

"How does he know that countersign? That's just for the Honour Guard?"

Nate was too tired to deal with the situation, so he called out to them.

"You are an absolute imbecile." That drew the attention of the guards, "I created the sign _and_ the countersign you idiots. Now let me through before I send you both to clean up the glowing sea with your toothbrushes."

The first guard stammered horribly, while the other stood to ramrod attention.

"Major Thiel, sir! We were expecting you from the eastern route."

"Well that obviously didn't happen, so let me through before I really get angry." The guards let him through, and Nate heard a bell ring eight times. That meant that Nate was back in Sanctuary.

He was met at the foot of the trail that led to Vault 111 by Captain Williams of the Honour Guard as well as five men. The Honour Guard was important, as the personal company of General Preston Garvey. The Honour Guard and the First Company were rivals, due to the belief that the Guard deserved the title of 'The First', but unfortunately for them, Preston wouldn't budge. The first company _was_ the First Company because technically, Nate was the first recruit, followed shortly by Jun. All that said, Thomas Williams was a good man, and had no issues with Nate, or his men.

"Jesus, major, you look like crap. What happened?" A concerned Williams asked.

"Two snipers tried to ambush me on the main route to Sanctuary. I took me a while, but I got them. Gunners, unsurprisingly. I marked the coordinates of their bodies, but chances are they'll be long gone by the time a patrol gets there. Then I swung through the wilderness to avoid any caravan trails. It's why I ended up by the vault instead of the main road." Nate explained. He saw one of the men escorting him peel off, most likely to send prepare a patrol to be sent out.

The captain took him to his home, shielding him from the citizens that lived in the settlement. Nate saw massive construction projects going on, with land being levelled, and power lines being placed. Sanctuary was more a military settlement than a civilian one, but it still allowed its people to live sheltered lives. Once he was home, he peeled off all his clothes and piled them in a corner, to be dealt with later. He moved to where the bathroom, which once was amazing, was. He had set it up with a very basic shower, nothing more than a steady stream of water falling on his head. To Nate's surprise and joy, the water came out hot. He presumed Sturges had worked on it, but didn't really care. He washed all the mud and grime off his body and out of his hair, before turning off the water, and drying off.

In situations where he was at Sanctuary, Nate had two options. He could wear fatigues, or he could wear his dress uniform, which was a replicated Continental Army uniform from the Revolutionary War. He thought about it for several minutes, and then decided to wow the people of Sanctuary. He put on his dress uniform, tucked the tricorn hat under his arm, and marched out his front door. Williams eyed him up and down, but didn't say anything. He led him towards where the roundabout was. Before, there had been three houses, but now, it was just one big compound. The nerve centre of Sanctuary was a fortress inside a fortress. He was led through without any words, and was taken straight to the General's quarters. Williams didn't even have the chance to knock before the door opened.

Preston enveloped Nate in a large hug, before checking him over. Once he was sure there was nothing wrong with him, he invited him in to sit. Nate handed a piece of paper with the coordinates of the bodies to Williams, who knew what it was with one glance. He turned and marched off to give them to some squad.

"It's good to see you, man. I heard you came out of the bush, looking like a raider." Preston said with some humour in his voice. "It's good to see you healthy."

"Preston, I know for a fact that you have heard the story I gave Williams. Ask me what you want to ask, and then we'll get smashed." Nate told the general bluntly.

"Alright, how do you know it was the Gunners? Not that I'm contesting." Came the placating response.

"Aside from the fact that no one else, other than our men, have the gonads to pull that off? They were communicating with each other over radio. Who do you know that could have the resources to get that done?"

"Just the Gunners," Preston sighed, "alright. We'll talk about the Gunner issue tomorrow."

Nate gave him a knowing look.

"Fine, two days from now." Preston acquiesced. "Now, let's get blackout drunk, in celebration of two more dead Gunners, and my best friends survival."

MMXVII

 _Crikey! Two chapters in one day. I'm a terrible person for not following through with my promises, but damn is it hard to write. Anyhow, I'm going to address some things right now. Nate had only trained one company, the first company. Other recruits, including the second company, which is a combat engineer company, were trained at either Sanctuary, or the Castle, depending on whether or not the enlisted before or after the fort was retaken. The average Minutemen company is sixty men, made up of ten squads of six. The First Company is thirty-six men, with maybe fifteen being screened as potential candidates. Nate does not oversee the training of all the soldiers, and very few of them can match the skill of Nate, or his men. That said, the 'regulars' are not cannon fodder. Equate them as the US Marine Corps from WW2 to Vietnam. Kind of Gung-ho, but still disciplined._

 _The sniper duel was hard to write because I myself have never been in one. I have been hunting though, sitting in a blind for three hours. I am in no way saying that sitting in a hunting blind is anything like being in a sniper duel. If it seemed like it happened kind of fast, it kind of did. I'm not an expert at how those types of shootouts go, so I'm basing it mostly on American Sniper, and documentaries I have watched. Lastly, I hate the weapons in Fallout 4. They were so disappointing compared to the ones in Fallout 3, and more importantly, the ones in New Vegas, which just had sooooo many realistic guns. Some of the vanilla weapons, like the Combat Rifle, stay, but for the stupid looking ones, like the Assault Rifle of F4, I've replaced it with the R91, the assault rifle from F3. I also have many real world guns because I want to. Thank you for reading this semi-rant. Leave reviews, PM me, or both, I love them all equally._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka._


	13. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Unsurprisingly, Nate and Preston were too hungover to do much the day after he arrived. They had gone through four bottles of whiskey, and considering they were each at least two hundred years old, it was quite strong. Somehow Nate had made it back to his house unscathed. He assumed the Captain Williams had something to do with it. He had been pleasantly surprised to wake up in his own bed, and had burrowed deeper into his sheets. September in the Commonwealth was when the weather started to cool down. By December, it would freeze in the evenings, and be relatively cold in the day, but it never snowed. There was still too much radiation in the air for water to freeze. Cocooned in the sheets, Nate drifted off the sleep.

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 _The retreat was just as bloody as the attack. The Chinese poured out of their positions to give chase to the fleeing Americans. Nate would later find out that the intel they had been given was horribly wrong. It wasn't two-thousand Chinese defending the valley. It was eight-thousand, with forty-thousand more coming in as reinforcements. The Chinese government had conscripted an entire city, and then sent them to Alaska. Nate had lost close to half the men under his command by the time they made it to the American FOB. Machine gun emplacements and mortars Fired upon the pursuing Chinese forces, and forced them into to retreat, just like the Americans had._

 _The casualties were horrific. Twenty Delta operators had been killed, thirty marines, the entire Mechanized Cavalry detachment was dead, and the regular army soldiers had been wiped out. Colonel Nelson reassured Nate that it wasn't his fault, and that they had been supplied bad intel, but Nate knew if he had just been more careful, and less focused on recovering Smitty's body, that more soldiers would have lived. Captain Michael's offered to cede command of the next attack to Nate, but he declined. Instead, he went around to each of the surviving men of the raid, and apologized to each one individually. To those that had lost comrades from other squads, he apologized as well. He wrote each letter of condolences to the families, and assured them that the death of their brethren would be avenged._

 _Mitch and Paul were dead. He and Shaun were the only surviving members of his squad. Nelson refused to merge the remaining squads, and instead put in the request for reinforcements. It would still take several months for the recruits to arrive. The surviving Delta operators repeatedly told Nate that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that it was. There was nothing he could do about it. Nate sat in his squad's tent, going through Paul's stuff, while Shaun went through Mitch's. They had separated the personal items from the ones that belonged to the Army. Mitch had been young, only 21, with no wife, girlfriend, or any significant other, so all his items would go to his parents. Paul had been the oldest of the squad, at 44. He had a wife, two daughters, and a son. His son was 16 now, and Nate felt awful about the news he was about to receive. His eldest daughter was 20, and his youngest only 13. They had loved their father fiercely, and had known Nate, who had been 19 when he had first met them, as 'Uncle Nate'. It broke his heart writing the letter to Paul's family._

 _Shaun finished with Mitch's items, and then backhanded Nate viciously._

" _Alright, I've given you two days to mope," Shaun said, "and now that you've had your chance to feel sorry for yourself, here's what's going to happen. We are going to go to Nelson, and tell him we want to sabotage the enemy positions. Then, we're going to go to the Chinese lines, and ruin their day so thoroughly, they'll all want to leave and go home. But since they can't go home, they'll try to kill us. We are going to prevent that from happening by killing them first. Sounds like a good plan, right?"_

" _No, actually it sounds pretty suicidal and impossible." Nate shook his head. "But I'm behind you one-hundred percent buddy. It's time to do what we do best. Kill, but not be seen. If we flank the valley, we could set up a nest higher in the mountain, and shoot down at them. Let's go look at some maps."_

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Nate woke to someone banging on his door. His watch said it was fifteen minutes to noon. He decided that it was time to get up. As he got dressed, he thought about his dreams. Ever since Bunker Hill, they had been of his time in the Sino-American War, specifically the Anchorage campaign. He thought of Paul, the wise-ass veteran who had been his mentor in Delta. Shaun, his best friend from pre-K who had enlisted with him, Smitty, the quiet, but humorous operator, and Mitch, the kid who had joined up because it was the right thing to do.

When he opened his door, Marcy Long stood there with an unusual frown on her face. In the nine months since he had rescued them, her personality had turned around. While Mama Murphy was the undeniable Matriarch of Sanctuary, Marcy was her appointed heir, in a way. Marcy had gone from embittered towards everyone to becoming one of the most helpful people in the settlement. Due to Jun's role as the first Minuteman, Marcy was often the First Lady of the Minutemen. She had a group of the husbands and wives of Minutemen which created packages and clothing for the serving members of the militia.

"You were screaming pretty loudly Nate. Are you feeling alright?" She asked, voice filled with concern. Nate looked at her with surprise. Normally if he was vocal in his nightmares he woke himself up.

"I was?" He asked, "I usually wake up if I start screaming. Are you sure it was me?"

"I am," said Marcy, "Everyone else is on construction duty in this block. You were given the day off due to the past week you've had. But I was put on 'Nate-duty' by Preston. He wants to make sure you're alright"

"Clearly, I'm not if I'm screaming wouldn't you say?"

"I'd beg to differ. I haven't heard a single peep out of you for nine months, and if I hadn't seen you interact with children and others, I'd be worried you were incapable of emotion. This shows that you are, but you've buried them so deep they have to manifest subconsciously, instead of consciously."

Nate gave a long, pointed glance at Marcy, who sighed.

"Preston's asked me to be the therapist for the Minutemen. I've been reading old textbooks for half a year now."

Nate was impressed. "How am I just now finding out about this? Marcy, that's fantastic!"

She gave him an unamused look. "Don't try to turn this around on me. I've been working with Preston and the men of the Honour Guard. I know what you're trying to do."

Nate decided to concede defeat. "Fine, but this isn't a conversation we should have at my door. Come in, I'll make some tea or coffee, and we'll continue your shrink duties." He stepped aside and let her in, and then wandered over to the kitchen, where he heated up a pot of coffee and started boiling water.

Marcy placed herself on a couch, and thanked Nate when he handed her a cup of coffee. Nate himself drank tea, something Nora had forced on him when he came back from Anchorage. He never drank anything else if he could help it. Tea helped calm him, but it was also one of the ties he had to Nora. Marcy cleared her throat.

"You've got a look in your eyes, Nate." She held up a folder with a notebook in it. "Do you mind if I take some notes, for your file?" He nodded.

"I'm thinking about Nora. And Shaun." Marcy's eyes widened briefly. Nate had told only one person about Nora and Shaun, his friend -not his son- and it was Preston. Of course, some people knew the basics, but no one knew as much as the General did.

"What about them specifically?" Marcy asked tentatively.

"Nora was such a good influence on me. We met in middle-school. Seventh grade, precisely. She had always been pretty, but I used to be a scrawny kid. She didn't care though, she had just moved to Boston and wanted to make real friends. All the other guys had hit on her, and it annoyed her to no end. I called one of the boys out because of it, and he beat me up. Broke my nose. But Nora, God she was a spitfire. She got right up in the guy's face, yelled at him for hitting me when all I had done was tell the truth, and then kicked him right in the balls, in front of half the grade." Nate had a wistful smile on his face. "When Shaun found out what happened he was furious, first at me, the at Nora, and then at the kid who had beat me up. It started our friendship with Nora. She spent more time around me and Shaun, didn't care that the more popular kids judged her for it, and just did her thing. I always admired her for that. The summer between seventh and eighth grade, I grew about a foot, and gained fifty pounds. I spent that summer in Texas, working on a ranch. I bulked up quickly, and the ranch-hands taught me how to fight. Well, taught me how Texans fight. I went back to school and no-one recognized me. Shaun did, of course, but even Nora was shocked. For the first time, she had to contend with other girls having my attention. I don't think she liked it very much." 

Nate took a long sip of his tea as Marcy furiously wrote down notes, or maybe she was writing everything he was saying, verbatim. He didn't care, he needed to let it all out.

"That was the year I realized I was in love with Nora, not just infatuated with her. I played football, made some new friends, and even had a girlfriend. Not that it really counted, it only lasted half a semester. By the time we moved on the high school, Shaun and I had decided we wanted to be professional football players. We spent almost all our time during the week practicing. I was a running back, so I got into even better shape. Nora decided to join the cheerleading team, because she didn't want them to be able to manipulate me or something like that. She never told me, but her and Shaun were gossip buddies."

Marcy looked up at that comment. "And that never bothered you? That she and Shaun talked about things they didn't share with you?"

Nate shook his head. "Nah, I was never one for talking about other people if I could help it. Shaun knew I had it in my head that I was going to marry Nora, so he never tried anything. He had a steady girlfriend all throughout high school, too. I think he wanted to marry her after the war ended." That sobered Marcy up quickly. Nate didn't talk about the war with civilians, but he did talk about it with his men. Jun had relayed some of those stories to her. She was shocked that the Old World was just as violent and vicious and the new one.

"We graduated in 2066. I had been dating Nora for a year, and we were happy. She was planning to go to Harvard to study law, and I was going to go there to play football, and minor in linguistics, oh, uh, languages," Nate explained at Marcy's confused face. "Anyway, we had started our first semester, and made it to the end of the year, when China invaded Alaska. I didn't even think about it, and enlisted. Shaun did too. Nora was devastated, but she made me promise that we would marry as soon as I got my first leave." Nate trailed off, eyes glazing over. Marcy assumed he was reliving a memory.

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" _I'm sorry Nathaniel, it sounded like you said you were going to enlist?" Nora's tone made Nate's blood turn cold._

" _Uh, no babe, I said I enlisted. I'm shipping off to basic next week." Nate told her timidly. Despite being an All-American Athlete, he was still terrified of his girlfriend, and for the right reason too._

" _Duck!" Shaun called out from the doorway. Nate didn't even hesitate, and dropped to the ground, one of the pillows from the couch flying overhead._

" _You absolute idiot! Have you thought about what you've done!" Nora's voice quivered towards the end, and Nate had her enveloped in his arms in a flash. She looked up to him, tears running down her cheeks. "What if you get killed? What would I do then Nate?"_

" _Well while I certainly don't want Nate to die, it would end the war quicker." Shaun's voice interjected into the moment. Both Nate and Nora gave him an incredulous look. He shrugged. "Do you really think the Chinese would be able to stop Nora on the warpath? They'd surrender before she got over to them, fearing for their lives. Forgot nuclear bombs, Nora is the only WMD we need."_

 _Nora sniffled, but was laughing. She looked at Nate again. "I should've expected this Nate. You have such a big heart, and we've all heard the stories about what's going on in Alaska. Fine, fine. I'll let you go, but only on one condition."_

 _"Of course, just tell me what." Nate quickly assured her. He heard Shaun groan into his hands behind him, but ignored him._

" _The first leave you get, we're getting married. We already talked about, and were going to wait until after college, but if you've enlisted, I want to be married to you."_

 _Nate's breath hitched in his throat, and Shaun choked on air. They hadn't expected that. It did make the next part a little easier though._

" _Uh, buddy?" Shaun said, "do ya want me to get the thing now?"_

 _Nora's head whipped back and forth between the two. She squinted her eyes, expecting something bad to happen. Nate shook his head._

" _I have it with me. Do you really think I'd trust you with me?" Shaun laughed at the comment._

" _Nate?" Nora asked slowly. He didn't respond, but instead lowered himself onto a knee, and pulled a box out of his pocket. Nora's hands flew up to her mouth._

" _So, I honestly had a much more romantic moment picked out, but um, you kinda ruined it with your demand, so I guess now will have to do. Nora Collins, will you make me the happiest man on earth, and marry me?"_

 _Nora didn't respond, and instead dropped to her knees and wrapped Nate up in kiss. Shaun coughed from his corner._

" _Was that a yes? Nate, buddy, I don't speak woman. Did she say yes? Or was that the breakup kiss?"_

 _Nora glared at Shaun, and he beat a hasty retreat. "All right! I've got something to do literally anywhere else, and so I'm going to go do that thing. Right now. At this very moment."_

 _Once he was out of the apartment, Nate and Nora broke down into laughs. She slipped the ring over her finger and admired it. It was a simple gold band, but it would've cost Nate a stupendous amount of money, especially as a college student. They sat together on the floor for the rest of the evening, laughing and enjoying their last week together._

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"Nate? Nate?" Marcy shook Nate out of his memories.

"Sorry Marcy. Just remembering." Nate's apology was hollow and they both knew it. Marcy just gave him a tight smile, and rose from her seat.

"I think we'll continue this another day, Nate. Maybe it'll be easier for you to focus then."

"Thanks Marce. I appreciate it. I need to go see Preston anyway." Nate rose and opened the door for Marcy. She left, and went to her and Jun's house.

Nate looked towards the construction that was going on. Originally, when Nate and the others had begun fortifying Sanctuary properly, they had built a four-foot dirt rampart. Then, when numbers had increased, they reopened an old quarry, and began bringing in stone blocks, to rebuild the walls with. The walls themselves were now about eight-feet tall, and were lined with sandbags, making sanctuary one of the most well defended settlements in the Boston area. Nate was sure by the time he died it would be a city. The only thing that would've made it better was Nora. But for his son, he would make sure he never had to know a life of war. Of killing. Only peace. It was what he had fought for in the first place.

MMXVII

 _Author's Note_

 _Howdy,_

 _So, Nate has a flashback, and we get to see the new and improved Marcy Long. I always hated her character, but at the same time, I understand it. She lost her son, and that is truly devastating. I write her this way because it's been close to a year since Quincy. That's certainly not enough time to get over the loss of her son, but it is enough time for her to mourn him. She becomes less of the type of character you want to gun down in game, and more useful. In this story, she serves as the Minuteman shrink. Also, any time Nate has a flashback when with Marcy in the future, it will general be about Nate and Nora, or about Nate's civilian life, before the war. As always, feel free to PM me, and make sure to leave a review. Also, if you know people who use FF, tell them to read my story!_

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	14. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Paladin Danse had watched Bunker Hill get destroyed. He had been with Haylen on the roof of the police station installing the Deep Range Transmitter. To his surprise, Haylen had revealed that upon further examination, the DRT the Minutemen had given them wasn't a pre-war model. It was made from parts scavenged from military bases. That meant two things. First, the Minutemen could recreate certain pre-war techs, and second, they had lied to Haylen, saying that it was the model they had recovered. Danse understood the second reason, even if he didn't like it. The Brotherhood was known for taking a hard-line stance with technology, so not sharing that capability made sense. When the settlement exploded, Danse felt the heat. He ushered Haylen inside. He hadn't done anything, however, and left the issue to the Minutemen. There wasn't much he could do, anyway. He had the only remaining functional suit of Power Armour, which meant he had to do most of the scavenging. Rhys spent most of his time fortifying the inside of the station while Haylen organized her notes on the Minutemen, and the Commonwealth in general.

A month after the destruction of Bunker Hill, Danse was roused by gunfire. He was on his fleet in a flash, and had his laser rifle by his side before he had even taken two strides across the room. Rhys was peeking out the door, while Haylen grasped her laser pistol close to her chest. Danse laid his rifle against the wall and stepped into his armour. When his helmet had sealed, and the sensors began streaming information, Danse stepped out the door. The street was clogged with feral ghouls, who were trying to get somewhere. The barricades that Danse and his men had established were still blocked off, making sure that they couldn't get swarmed by the ghouls once more. He moved to the top of the barricade, and watched as the ghouls funnelled down the tight street towards a large trailer, which was stopping the ghouls from progressing. Perched on top of the trailer were six men, wearing dark blue fatigues and wielding combat rifles. One of them was prone, with an old M249 support machine gun, but held his fire. The others were placing careful shots into the horde of ghouls, taking many of them down at a time.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" Someone said from behind Danse. He jerked in surprise and spun around, as fast as he could in Power Armour.

Leaning against the barricade was Nate Thiel, in all his glory. He had a heavily customized combat rifle, with a polymer stock, a large clip, and a long barrel. He wasn't wearing the combat armour he had been in when Danse met him almost two months ago, but instead had some sort of scaled armour. It was clearly made from the same Kevlar-Ceramic mix that regular combat armour was made of, but it was broken down into small plates, overlapping each other. Danse could see where several of the plates had been replaced, most likely from a round impacting.

"It is. How long have they been training for?" Danse responded, before the silence overtook them.

"This would be the beginning of week eight. They're about halfway through with their training. I stole this group because I wanted to see what they could do." Nate's explanation was interrupted by the sudden addition of the support weapon opening on the ghouls. Danse saw several of them get bisected by the fire, while others simply fell apart under the onslaught.

"The man operating the support gun? He's the only survivor from Bunker Hill. His father died ensuring that my men and I escaped." Danse winced at that. No settlements in the capital had been destroyed in a decade. The Brotherhood had made sure of that.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must be tough for him." Danse offered.

"I thought it might be too. It isn't. He's done something that can either be very good, or very bad. He's replaced his emotion with anger. He pushed all the self-pity and sadness as far down as he could, and built an impregnable armour of anger instead." Nate turned to look at Danse, who had removed his helmet. "The training officers have earmarked him for an NCO rank. Either Sergeant or Staff Sergeant. He'll be transferred to a combat-ready squad."

"It doesn't bother you that he's using his anger, instead of coping?" Danse asked.

Nate chuckled darkly. "It'd be pretty hypocritical of me to make that judgement, Paladin. How do you think I've lasted this long? Trust me, I'm very, very angry."

That took Danse aback. He had thought that Nate Thiel was one of the nicest people he knew. He wasn't a pushover, but he was a generally good person. Haylen had reported the same thing, and she spent more time with him than any of Recon Squad Gladius. Rhys hated him, but Rhys hated most people who weren't members of the Brotherhood of Steel, and even then, he hated most of them anyway.

"You're thinking pretty hard about it, Paladin. I can tell." Nate informed him. "Just because I'm angry doesn't mean I don't strive to be a good person. Duck-" Nate dropped and Danse followed, and a round sped over where they had just been standing. Once Nate was on his feet, he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Watch your fire, De Luca. You almost winged me!" He yelled to the trainees.

"Sorry Major! My bad!" The trainee, De Luca, responded.

Nate turned back to Danse. "I'm assuming you've found out about the DRT? I didn't know we had replicated it, and I didn't know that we'd be giving you the new one. I'd apologize but we both know it isn't necessary. I would like to offer you a deal, however."

That intrigued Danse. He knew the Minutemen could offer the Brotherhood a lot, but he didn't know what the three of them could offer the Brotherhood.

"I'm open to negotiations. However, any deals I make do not apply to the Brotherhood , and don't extend past the borders of the Commonwealth. That's procedure." Danse said.

"Easy enough. My scouts have reported that you spend much of your time scavenging for food. I can have a bi-weekly caravan come by and supply you with food and drink. In return, I'd like permission to allow Minutemen to rest here. In small numbers, of course. No more than six men." Nate leaned on the railing. "Bunker Hill used to be the rest stop, but that's clearly gone. This is the closest friendly area we have. Do we have a deal?"

Danse pondered for a few moments. By having supplies delivered, he could spend more time searching for technology. Having a squad of Minutemen also meant that Rhys or Haylen could join him. The only downside to the situation would be that the Minutemen would get a glimpse of Brotherhood procedure. If it came to war, they would have a distinct advantage. But the pros outweighed the cons.

"We have a deal, Major. May it be the beginning of a long and fortuitous friendship." Danse announced.

"That's wonderful, Paladin Danse. The first caravan will arrive before the day is out. Our esteemed training squad will be bunking here tonight, with me. A regular squad will arrive tomorrow. You give us an area, and that's where we'll stay. Wherever you want us, we'll be happy."

Nate whistled loudly, and once again, the M249 opened. This time, it didn't stop firing until the horde was gone. Some ghouls were still alive, and the riflemen put them down swiftly with a bullet to the head. Danse was reminded once more that the Minutemen weren't a militia anymore. They were easily the equivalent of unarmoured Knights, and Nate could've given Gallows a run for his money. The old Knight would've liked Nate, Danse decided. The training squad wandered up to the station, and patiently waited outside the gates. Danse could hear them talking and joking with each other, and it made him glad that they had the relationships most soldiers had with each other. He pulled the Dumpster that was blocking the entrance back, and the Minutemen sidled through. He was about to push it back when two of the Minutemen stopped him.

"If it's alright Paladin, Private Rollins and I will remain out here, and hold the barricade." It was the soldier with the M249, and another, with a combat rifle that was changed to a marksman rifle, with a medium barrel, a smaller clip, and an ACOG scope.

Danse nodded. "As you wish, soldier."

The others filed in, and Danse saw Haylen and Nate talking animatedly. Rhys was looking disgruntled, but then again, that was his normal expression.

"We have a garage that you can bunk in. It's outside the protection of the barricades, but it does have a large metal door blocking it from the street." Danse told the group. "Unfortunately, we don't have any spare beds or mattresses for you."

Nate took over from there. "That's not a problem, Paladin Danse. We have our sleeping bags, and these kids need to learn how to sleep on the hard ground." 

The recruits nodded, but one of them raised her hand. Nate looked at her.

"Yes, Cadet Dalton?" He said.

"Major, all due respect, aren't you only 29? That makes you three years older than me. If I'm a kid, wouldn't that make you one too?" Danse was surprised by the cadet. No initiate would've gotten away with that. Nate just laughed instead.

"Well that's a fair point Cadet Dalton. When you get to Sanctuary go find Marcy Long. Tell her I told you to ask about the story, and that'll explain a lot." Nate replied nonchalantly. "Now, go get set up, and then join Privates Savoldi and Rollins."

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At six in the evening, a caravan rolled in, protected by a squad of Minutemen and four hired guards. Unlike most Brahmin Caravans Danse had seen, the goods weren't loaded onto the Brahmin. Instead, a team of two pulled the chassis of an old truck, which was packed with boxes. The Minutemen guards and the training squad unloaded a dozen boxes, while the hired guards milled about. Once all the goods were unloaded, they continued their way, towards another settlement. Nate, Danse, and Haylen helped the recruits bring the boxes inside the station, at which point each box was emptied, inventoried, and repacked. Danse was amazed. The Minutemen had brought enough food and water to last the ten of them three months, eating three full meals a day. If the price they had to pay was letting the Minutemen rest in the station, it was a good deal. If the deliveries were to be bi-weekly, then the station would have a massive surplus of food. There would be no need for Danse to search for food, and the meals they received tasted much better than the MRE's they were given.

Nate and his squad went back outside, and while they were patrolling, Danse took the time to go to the transmitter, and try to raise the Citadel.

"Citadel Actual this is Gladius One, attempting to raise communications, check." Danse spoke into the microphone. He was met with silence, so he repeated himself. And then he did it again. And again. And again. Just when he was worried that the Minutemen had given them a faulty transmitter, it squawked alive.

"Gladius One this is Citadel Actual, how copy" The voice on the radio said.

"Actual, this is One. I have a report to make, and need to speak with the elder." Danse turned towards Haylen, and covered the mike. "I need you to make sure our guests don't interrupt."

She nodded, and left the building. Rhys took up a position near the door, most likely to intimidate anyone who tried to enter.

"Danse, is that you?" Elder Maxson's voice came over the radio.

"Yes, elder. I have a Sitrep on the situation here. It's not what we were expecting. The small militia that was noted, the Minutemen, has been replaced with a much superior force. New leadership, from what I understand. The training levels are equal to our own."

The radio was silent for a moment. "Are they a threat to the Brotherhood, or our mission?"

"No, sir. They serve the people, but are quickly becoming a powerful faction. At this rate, they could easily challenge a small contingent of the chapter. They are constantly getting more recruits, and will soon become a powerhouse." Danse informed his superior.

"Affirmative. Anything else, Paladin?" Maxson asked.

"One thing sir. Scribe Haylen has reported strange energy readings. We believe it to be the Institute."

"You are certain?"

"As certain as the situation permits, sir."

"Roger that Paladin. Maintain your position. Maxson out."

The radio shut off, and Danse was left listening to static. He removed his headphones and placed them on the table. Elder Maxson had told him to maintain his position. That was easy enough. The reason why he wanted him to do so was what he was thinking about. Would reinforcements be coming, and if so, how many?

Danse became aware that something was wrong when Rhys started growling. He turned quickly to find the knight staring out the door. He moved to see what had upset Rhys so much, and the sight amused him. One of the Minutemen had placed his portable radio on the ground, and slow music was playing out of it. Nate and Haylen were swaying to the music, and the scribe's face was red. The tempo suddenly picked up, and with a squeal, Haylen spun out and then back into Nate's arms. Rhys started to take a step forward, but Danse put a restraining arm on his shoulder. Aside from Nate's subtle antagonizing of Rhys, the presence of the Major would be good for everyone.

MMXVII

 _Authors Note_

 _G'day_

 _Different greeting today. I decided to represent my Australian heritage. Which is all of it, because I am Australian, not some 1/16_ _th_ _person. Anyway. Danse returns, and we get an insight to the dull life at Cambridge Police Station. That is until lady-killer smooth talking Nate Thiel shows up. Now that Maxson has been brought up to speed, what could possibly happen? Find out next time on Resurgence: Rise of the Minutemen!_

 _Anyway, leave a review, PM me, or whatever. Love the feedback I get. ALL OF IT._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	15. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Nate knew what Haylen was doing. If Rhys hadn't been blocking the door he might've missed it, but he was too perceptive to let that happen. He wouldn't do anything, however, because it frankly wasn't his business, so instead, he asked Becca Rollins to bring out her radio, and then asked Haylen to dance. It had a two-fold effect. He genuinely liked the scribe, and she had told Vanessa Hale how much she loved dancing. The second reason wasn't a benign. He knew that Rhys didn't like him, and that he _did_ have some sort of feelings for Haylen, so Nate knew this would rile him up. Despite that, he enjoyed himself. Haylen was a good dancer, and even though Nate caught her off guard with the spin, she recovered quickly.

Their dinner consisted of Venison and Brahmin milk, though Nate pulled out one of the whiskey's he had found in the crates of Vault 111. The whiskey of the wasteland took superaged to a whole new level. Nate was certain he could taste cork and glass, along with the whiskey, but it was potent, so he tolerated it. Unsurprisingly, Knight Rhys didn't even think about touching the bottle, and instead sat alone in his own corner. Nate noticed he was never far from his weapon, which was admirable, if useless. The ex-special forces soldier would be able to draw and hit him before he could even aim his weapon. Eventually, the group separated and went to sleep.

The next morning, Nate watched the trade-off between the training squad and their replacement squad. The Brotherhood group wasn't aware, but instead of a regular squad, the trainees were being replaced by Squad Golf of the First Company. They were better than most at falling into the mannerisms and patterns of regular forces, so they were being left at the station to watch over them. It wasn't that Nate was worried they might try something, he wasn't, but it was more that he had a suspicion that more Brotherhood forces might come to the Commonwealth, so Nate wanted to make sure nothing happened to this group. Once he was certain that Squad Golf was properly established, he left the station, making his way towards Sanctuary

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Three months later, Nate arrived at the alley, called by MacCready. He made his way to the command centre, where MacCready was waiting for him. The sniper was looking over a map, and Nate could see red pins on most of the marked locations on it. When he heard Nate approach, MacCready looked up, with a massive grin on his face.

"I have good news, Nate. One of my informants saw someone matching Kellog's description enter Fort Hagen." The former mercenary looked immensely pleased with himself, but Nate could tell he was holding something back.

"What else is there RJ? Something I might not like hearing?" MacCready had the decency to look away.

"He went in with two-dozen synths. Older models, but still no cakewalk. Want some backup?"

"No. I'm going to show him why killing my wife and kidnapping my son was the worst decision of his life. He may need reinforcements to stop me, but I certainly don't need anyone else to kill him."

MacCready looked at Nate with apprehension, but didn't say anything. This was Nate's fight, and although most of the Minutemen would follow him if he asked, he wouldn't. This was something he had to do alone.

"Contact Preston, and let him know I'm going after the bastard. I'll get in touch once I'm done. Let Nick know I'll see him at his office too." Nate ordered.

MacCready nodded, and Nate made his way to his room. He went to his gun wall, and started picking out the weapons he'd need. He would be travelling with four weapons, the most he'd ever carry. A Benelli Super 90, his M4, an M110, and his P220. The Benelli went into a holster above his waist, which meant he only had to reach back to draw it out. The M110 was strapped to his backpack, while his M4 was hanging off his chest. The P220 went into a hip holster, where it normally was.

Travelling on his own, it would take him about two days to get to Fort Hagen. Nate decided to go to Oberland, and rest there for the night, and then continue west to the fort. It would prevent him from arriving quicker, but he'd rather not face Kellog sleep deprived. He'd read the reports, and he knew what he could do.

The journey to Oberland Station was uneventful. The only interesting part was when a man pretending to be Nate tried to ask for funds for the Minutemen.

"Good day, Citizen. I'm Major Thiel of the Minutemen. You may have heard of me. I've been collecting donations for the Minutemen, and was wondering if you'd like to contribute to the safety of the Commonwealth?" The man intoned.

"Major Thiel, huh?" Nate said, amused beyond belief.

"That's right, I'm General Garvey's second in command. It's why I was entrusted with this vital mission." The man stated proudly. Nate had to give him credit, he was committed to his role.

"And you didn't consider the fact that you might accidently approach the real Major Thiel?" Nate asked.

"What?" The man asked, but then his eyes widened and he paled quickly.

"I see you've figured it out. Here's what's going to happen. You and I are going to go to Oberland Station together. We will arrest you, and then put you in a cell. You will tell the lieutenant at the station where all the funds came from, and then they will be returned." The man nodded, terrified by Nate's tone.

Nate and the imposter made it to Oberland Station a few hours later. The man was apprehended by the guards, and Nate went to go find Lieutenant Pierce, the officer in command of the settlement. The office of the commanding officer was in the old railway checkpoint, and consisted of the office itself, which was on the second floor, and the officer's stateroom, which was on the first floor. When Nate entered the office, he found himself not facing Lieutenant Pierce, but his old XO.

"Sergeant Morrison?" Nate asked, confused.

"Major Thiel, sir!" The man rose quickly. "Lieutenant Morrison now, sir. Lieutenant Pierce tried to eliminate a Super-Mutant site with his squad. Wiped out to the last man. I was promoted by General Garvey via radio four days ago."

That made sense. Nate had been travelling for a week, having taking a trek around the Glowing Sea.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Nate said, "Pierce was a good officer."

Morrison snorted, "All due respect, sir, Pierce was a glory-hounding idiot. He wanted to take over your spot. Thought that if he and his squad got rid of the mutants, the General would give it to him."

Nate was taken aback. He knew most of the officers aspired to have more power, for the most part, but he hadn't known that someone wanted his job. Most of his time nowadays was spent in the alley, writing reports, and coordinating the First Company. Since Bunker Hill, there had been a major influx in recruits, both from inside the Commonwealth, and outside of it. Settlements from Rhode Island, Connecticut and even Maine were asking for Minutemen help. The army had grown from 400 active soldiers in October of 2288, to 1,200 by February of the next year. Preston was considering sending a company down to Providence, to end the vicious gang wars that were occurring. Nate had talked him out of it, stating that 60 men, no matter how well trained, wouldn't fare well in the hostile environment, especially without enough support. Preston had relented, but had ordered Nate to draw up plans for an expedition, and submit them to him when he felt the Minutemen were ready.

"I'm not sure why he thought that would help. We have the same work, I just have more of it. Paperwork, and the occasional raid to deal with." Nate said flatly.

"Hey, don't worry boss. I'm happy leading this detachment, though from what I've heard, two more squads are being sent here, along with a Captain…. Savoldi, I think his name was." Morrison informed Nate.

"Savoldi?" Nate asked, surprised, "he was a corporal last I'd heard. When did he get that promotion?"

"No idea, sir, but it is his first command, so I'd assume recently." The lieutenant said.

"Huh. Find out what you can for me, write a report on it, and send it to the alley. I'll read it when I get back." Nate ordered.

"Yessir! Anything else?"

"No, lieutenant, that is all. Thank you."

Nate went to the barracks, and found a nice little cot to fall asleep in. He warned the others not to let anyone disturb him, and collapsed onto the cot, asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. He woke at midnight, and decided that he'd rather travel at night than wait till morning. The only person to talk to him was the guard, who was required to log his departure. Nate set off at a brisk pace, hoping to make it to Fort Hagen before sunrise at six. It'd be easier to infiltrate the fort before the sun was up. Even the Synths sensors would have difficulty picking him up in the dark. The chemicals Vault-Tec had stuck in him to preserve him in the Cryo-Tube had removed his heat signature entirely. He didn't know why, and neither had any doctor he had seen. He just didn't exist on the heat spectrum.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nate slid into Fort Hagen through the roof. He had bypassed the turrets on the rooftop, and entered through a hatch. He slowly crept down the staircase and towards a door. The sound of movement over broken glass stopped him short. He let his rifle down gently, and pulled out his P220. He slipped a suppressor from his webbing and screwed it onto the barrel, while peeking around the corner. He ducked back instantly to avoid a duo of synths patrolling the upper floor. The synths clearly hadn't expected anyone to come from the roof, so they passed him without even sparing a glance backwards. It would be the last mistake they ever made.

Nate aimed and fired to rapid shots, which caught both synths in the back of the heads. The crumpled to the ground in a flash, but somehow managed not to make too much noise. He supposed it was the synthetic flesh they had, which avoided making too much noise. It was both a blessing and a curse. Any synths he killed (destroyed? Nate wasn't sure which) wouldn't make much noise. On the other hand, he wouldn't be able to hear them approach, so he'd have to act with his eyes first. Nate prepared himself for a slow crawl towards Kellog.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Conrad Kellog was taking a blood sample when one of the synths approached him.

"Operative Kellog, Synths CS-1381 and CS-9999 have ceased responding to all hails. What is your directive?" The synth reported to him.

Kellog stopped drawing the blood. The spare finding him happened quickly. He had been back in the Commonwealth for a week. He had expected longer to set up the fort. Then again, he knew had read the report of the parent he had spared. Special forces, had worked for the spooks, and had a kill sheet longer than Kellog's own, something that both impressed him and worried him. He wasn't dealing with some pre-war grunt that had been conscripted, but instead with a ten-year veteran of the Sino-American war.

"Continue regular patterns, but increase patrols in the sub-levels" Kellog ordered the synth, who didn't respond, but went off to conform to the orders.

Kellog sighed. He had wanted more time, had needed it, but he understood the threat he was against. He hoped he died in the coming fight. If he didn't, he wouldn't like what happened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nate had fought through far more than 24 synths to make it to Kellog, but here he was, face to face with the man who had killed Nora, and taken Shaun. He had waited a year for this moment. Nate was staring at the man who had coldly fired a bullet into the chest of a mother who was scared and confused. The anger that served as Nate's armour welled up, and his heart-rate increased. Kellog walked up to him, but before he could even open his mouth, Nate had fired a round into the head of the synth to Kellog's right, and then pivoted and fired two shots into the chest of the one that had been flanking behind him. Then he turned back to Kellog.

"It's taken me a long time to find you, Conrad. Do you mind if I call you Conrad?" Nate asked, his voice unnaturally neutral.

"I suppose you can. You have every right to. But we both know how this is going to go. You're going to ask me where your son in, I'm going to tell you that I know where he is, but won't tell you, and then we'll shoot at each other. Can we move on now?" Kellog stated impatiently.

It was his mistake to assume his opponent would be briefly stunned by the revelation. Instead, Nate had lunged forward, and sliced his knife across Kellog's arms, which had been held out in front of him as a placating gesture.

"I just cut your flexor tendons, Kellog. You can't use your hands now. Of course, you could swing at me like an idiot, but we both know that won't work. I've interrogated spies, terrorists, and special forces. What makes you think you'll do any better than them?" Nate said, not a single emotion in his voice.

"Argh- You bastard! I'll kill you for this!" Kellog started screaming at Nate, but the words became less coherent after Nate drove his boot into Kellog's knee. The man dropped to the ground, and Nate gave him a psychotic smile.

"Let's have a little chat shall we?" Nate asked him, wiping his knife on his pants.

MMXVII

 _Author's Note_

 _Howdy,_

 _This ends kinda brutal, but I wanted to emphasize the effect Kellog has on Nate's psych. To those who think I completely skipped the Kellog fight, I did. At the same time, Nate was special forces in what could be considered the most brutal war of the Fallout universe. It's undeniable he would've become very skilled to survive. And Kellog starts with talking, which Nate clearly doesn't want to do. I also didn't want the write the fight. Like always, leave a review or PM._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	16. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

When Nate was finished with Kellog, he knew everything that he could. He knew that the Institute sent its elite synths, coursers, out through a teleporting relay. He knew that Shaun was now ten years old, and that the institute had sent him to Kellog to watch for several months. There was a scientist named Virgil who fled the institute, and was hiding out in the glowing sea. All this information had been extracted in a rather painful way for Kellog, who had passed out several minutes before. He was bloody and torn up. Nate had found cybernetics while interrogating him, which made him question how human Kellog was.

"Christ, Nate, what did you do to him?" A deep voice cut in.

Nate spun around and had his gun raised in a flash. Standing behind him was Nick Valentine, whose face was as inexpressive as ever.

"I had questions, Nick, and he had the answers. So, I asked and he answered." Nate replied, "how did you know I was here? I told MacCready to tell you I'd meet you at Diamond City."

Nick squinted his eyes at Nate. "I know what you wanted, but I came here to make sure something like this," he waved at Kellog, "didn't happen. It seems I was too late. You said you got the answers you needed, so help him."

Nick realized quickly why those words were a big mistake. Nate fired his P220 into Kellog's shoulder, on the right side. And then he fired again, directly into Kellog's heart.

"There," Nate declared, "I helped him. Let's move on."

Nick stormed over to Nate had slammed him against a desk.

"I'm going to let this slide, because I know what he did to you, and to your wife, but if I ever, _ever_ hear of you doing this to someone else, I don't care who, and if you think they deserve it, I will hunt you down, and make sure that you can't do anything like this ever again." Nick glared at Nate. "I don't care how good of friends we are. This isn't you. Don't make me follow through."

Nate shrugged, and walked towards the lift. He and Nick climbed in, and pressed the button to the roof. There was a terminal that turned off the turrets, and opened the door, so Nate did both. The door swung open and Nate and Nick were exposed to the Commonwealth air.

Floodlights rained down from the skies, and Nate found himself staring at what had to be the biggest airship in the world. Vertibirds were flying alongside it, and four detached from the blimp itself, with four more still locked on.

"People of the Commonwealth," The airship started blaring on several speakers, "Do not interfere. Our Intentions are peaceful. We are the Brotherhood of Steel."

"Christ Almighty," Nick muttered, "that's one big ship."

"Yes, it is." Nate looked on in awe. "That is one big ship indeed. I want one."

Nick threw an unamused glance a Nate.

"Of course, you want one, but what would you use it for?" He asked.

"I dunno Nick. World conquest maybe. I bet that Airship could carry the entire Minutemen army right now. And the Vertibirds! They have a small fleet of them! I need to get to Sanctuary. Preston will want to know about this"

Nate looked at the synth detective, who sighed.

"Fine, go. But don't think I've forgotten about this." Nick warned.

Nate was already gone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arthur Maxson watched from the observation deck as the strike team cleared out the airport ruins. Twenty knights in power armour were being supported by almost forty initiates. Many of them would earn their Knighthood after the battle, and some of the knights would become Paladins. After the Talon Company uprising was suppressed, many wastelanders joined up with the Brotherhood, either out of gratitude, or because they had nowhere else to go. The mission to the Commonwealth was three-fold. First, and most importantly, potentially finding the Institute was essential. Second, to give the new recruits some experience, and third, to investigate the new Minutemen.

After Danse had made his report, Maxson had gone over all the reports he had of the organization from the first expedition. It was obvious from the initial report and Danse's that someone very skilled had come into power. Dedicated training camps, elite units, and the capacity to build new weapons and tech. All these led to either another foe, or a new ally. Arthur was curious to see which it was. Danse had told him about Major Nathaniel Thiel, the second in command of the Minutemen. According to the paladin, Thiel was easily the most skilled fighter he had ever encountered, and that said something. The paladin had served as Arthur's go to field agent since he was appointed elder.

A loud explosion drew his attention back to the airport. A large fire was blazing towards the ruins of Boston. Maxson sighed, and called Captain Kells into the deck.

"Lancer-Captain?" Maxson asked. He didn't need to state the question.

"An old pre-war truck took a round from a rifle. It punctured into the reactor. We have a team working on containing it now." Kells reported.

"Good, keep me updated. I'll be in my state room."

Maxson turned and walked away, and climbed up the ladder that led to the main deck. He acknowledged some knights and scribes, but made his way to his room quickly. He closed the door, and sat at his terminal. After thinking for a few moments, he opened up the file that had the memoirs of his distant ancestor, Roger Maxson, the founder of the Brotherhood. He searched for the year 2072, in the month of November, for a portion he had found educational when he was younger. Now, it would answer a question he wasn't sure he wanted answered.

 _November 4_ _th_ _, 2072_

 _We started annexing Canada five months ago, and we've been harassed by guerrillas ever since. They attacked my convoy last night, a full force of two hundred angry Canadians. They had primed the trees with explosives, which knocked them into our path. Collin's APC was crushed by a tree that weighed almost two tons. None of them survived. The insurgents swarmed from the tree line, and were plastering us with small arms fire. Our mechanized infantry managed to deploy, and set up a perimeter, but we were outnumbered, heavily. Things were getting desperate when four pickup trucks burst into the clearing we were in. They all had miniguns propped up on the back, and opened on the Canadians. About two dozen men got out from the trucks, and began fighting alongside us. I got a glimpse at them, and realized that they were special operations. What went from an unrecoverable situation quickly became a staggering victory. We later found out that of the two hundred Canadians that attacked us, only thirty-four managed to escape the firefight, and were later hunted down by the DIA. It turned out that Collins had been communicating with our base when his APC was crushed, and that the Delta boys had quickly set out to come rescue us. They had been led by the quick actions of a First Sergeant Nathaniel Thiel, who was a five-year veteran, having enlisted when Alaska was invaded. He and his men ensured that we were safe, and then loaded back up in the trucks, before speeding off._

 _Edit: November 9_ _th_ _, 2077_

 _I never met Sergeant Thiel, but some of the men under my command had. Apparently, his squad had been completely wiped out in Anchorage, and he went on a killing spree, before he was forcibly retired by the army. From what I've been told, Sergeant Thiel had 117 confirmed kills, and twice that in unconfirmed kills. He would've made a good comrade at Mariposa._

 _Captain Roger Maxson, Serial Number 072389_

XXXXX

Arthur read the entry again. Was it possible that the Nathaniel Thiel that Danse mentioned was the same one that was in Roger's diary? Arthur wasn't sure, but he was determined to find out. If it was the same man, Arthur would have to do everything in his power to make him see the benefits of joining the Brotherhood. He had to make an ally of this man.

"Elder Maxson?" Kells voice came over the intercom in Arthur's room. He rose to respond.

"Yes, Lancer-Captain?" He replied.

"The airport has been cleared. We have teams cleaning up, and others are building defences. Would you like to return to the observation deck, in order to promote the initiates and knights?" Kells asked.

Arthur thought for a moment. "No, you may do so, Kells. I need some time to myself. See to it that I am not disturbed."

"Yes, elder." Came the simple reply.

Arthur climbed into his bed. He had been awake for 27 hours now, and needed to catch up on his sleep. He would probably get five or six hours in before he was needed. Arthur Maxson drifted off to sleep thinking about the future of the Brotherhood, especially with someone like Nathaniel Thiel in it.

MMXVII

 _Author's Note_

 _The Brotherhood has arrived! Arthur Maxson and that big-ass blimp are now in the commonwealth. For the Prydwen, I've scaled it like I've scaled most of the world. Since the Prydwen is 40,000 tons, which is the lore, it can carry twice the number of Vertibirds, and can carry about 1,500 Brotherhood personnel. That's knights, scribes, and paladins, including all the equipment. Before anyone panics, the Minutemen will NOT be getting an airship. I've got an idea for the Minutemen, so we'll see how that pans out. As always, leave a review or send me a PM, I'll do my best to respond to either._

 _Vonok,_

 _Soviet_Babushka_


	17. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

By the time Nate arrived in Sanctuary, Preston had received no less than thirty-four reports on the massive airship that was now parked across the bay from the Castle. Ronnie Shaw had reported that there was fighting going on at the airport. The ghoul horde would've been eradicated by the Brotherhood personnel. Nate was interested by the Brotherhood. Based on Danse, Rhys, and Haylen, they were consummate soldiers, but that was only a group of three. He wanted to see what they could do with the proper numbers and logistics. He had a plan to find out, but he would need time to implement it. Time he didn't have, because now he had three issues to deal with. The Gunners, the Institute, and now, the Brotherhood of Steel.

Captain Williams met Nate at the bridge, and led him to Preston without any words. The citizens of Sanctuary didn't greet him, but Nate assumed that was because he was covered in hydraulic fluid and blood. When he entered the command post, it was in chaos. Men were running around, trying to sort information, while others were yelling at each other. Nate sighed, drew his sidearm, and fired a shot into the floor. It got silent very quickly.

"Thank you all for your attention. Right now, that giant blimp in the sky is not attacking us, nor our settlements, therefore, it is a neutral, and we shall treat it as such." He paused, to make sure his point got across. "That said, I want to put out a notice for more troops to be raised. Put notices in DC, 81, and anywhere else. We're making Starlight Drive-In a training camp, so make sure some drillers make it there. Condense the training course to ten weeks, so figure out how to make that work. Lastly, keep in communication with our eastern settlements, especially those by the coast. That's all. Dismissed."

Nate then walked through the crowd towards Preston's office. He made his way in, and found the general reclined into his chair, an amused expression on his face.

"Aren't I supposed to be in charge, Nate? I have a feeling you're after my job." Preston joked.

Nate laughed. "No sir, just making sure the men know what they are doing. They seemed a bit confused as to proper procedure."

Preston nodded, "Understandable. I like the plan you've implemented, but do you think we can raise the necessary recruits? Even with a new camp?"

"Absolutely. We've had to turn away recruits due to how many wanted to join, and the limit that we had set. My hope is to raise another four companies by winter. That'd bring us up to 24 companies. That's three battalions. I'd like to have six by next year." Nate stopped talking, when a thought struck him. "What are we going to do about a civil government? Right now, most settlements are Minutemen camps, with a civilian populace alongside the garrison. Preston, right now, we are the government."

It was an epiphany Nate wasn't sure why he hadn't had before. Maybe he had been too busy, or maybe he just hadn't wanted to think about it. But now he had to. There was a new power in the commonwealth, that from what Danse had told him, was an Ordenstaat. That meant not only could they field an army in the Commonwealth, but they also could govern it. That could lead to the Minutemen losing control, which wouldn't be pretty.

"That's a good point Nate. Piper's here, so let's call her in and get her opinion on the situation. I'll send a message to Hancock as well, to see what he thinks we can do." Preston announced. "Right now, I need to know why the hell you're covered in blood and…. Is that hydraulic fluid?"

"Oh. Right. I found Kellog." Nate said dumbly.

"And all of that belongs to him?" Preston asked, clearly disturbed.

"Uh, well it did. I killed him." Nate replied.

"Uh huh. I'm not going to dig into this because frankly, you're too important to the Minutemen. I don't want to hear anything about what happened, but if it does happen again, I'll revoke your commission, and label you an enemy of the Minutemen. It's that simple, Nate." Preston informed him.

"That's fair enough. It won't happen again." Nate assured his friend.

"Good, now go shower and get cleaned up. Ronnie Shaw will be here tomorrow, and MacCready the day after. We've got some things to go through. Most of the captains will be here by the end of the week. The lieutenants are in charge while they're here." Preston informed him.

Nate snapped a clean salute, and once it was returned, left for his house. People still gave him a wide berth, not that he blamed them. He was muddy and bloody, and desperately needed a shower. He walked into his house and found Codsworth buzzing around, cleaning up from when he had last been home.

"Ah, sir! How pleasant to see you again! I have washed and pressed your fatigues, and will be cleaning your dress uniform shortly. General Garvey has asked me to remind you that on Sunday we will be having a promotion ceremony for all the new captains. You are to be present and dressed appropriately!" Codsworth informed Nate.

"Thank you, Codsworth. I'm going to shower now. Please make sure I'm not disturbed."

Nate wandered off before he heard the reply. He was naked and showering within three minutes of walking into his house. Once clean, he put on some civilian clothes, instead of his fatigues or his uniform. He decided to go talk to Sturges. It had been a month since he had last seen the mechanic, and he was eager to check up on MinuteArms, and the work in Sanctuary.

When Nate approached the workshop of Sanctuary, Sturges was out front directing workers. He sent them off when he saw Nate.

"Nate Thiel! It's great to see you. How are you doing?" Sturges rattled off.

"I'm good, buddy." Nate Chuckled. "Busy, but good. I wanted to check up on the business, see how things are going."

"Right." Sturges nodded. "McDonough put through another request for two hundred rifles, but we turned him down again. Deacon showed up and asked for thirty rifles, and he paid upfront, so we made the deal. He was given guns from the reserve stock."

Sturges was handed a clipboard, and he examined it closely. "Also, we had some lone individuals try to buy from us. Some were vetted, so we sold to them, but a few were too suspicious, so we turned them down. That's pretty much it for now. If anything changes I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Sturges. Do you think you could ramp up production for the Minutemen? I've ordered a massive recruitment boost, and we'll need weapons for them." Nate told the mechanic.

"Really?" Sturges looked surprised. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. We might have to taper off some of the bigger guns, but I don't think that'll be a problem. You want them all at the Castle?"

"Nah, split them between the Castle and Starlight. The Drive-In hasn't been established yet, but it'll be a training camp soon enough." Nate said. "I'll leave you to it, pal. Good luck."

Sturges thanked him, and the duo split up. Nate made his way towards the lake to the north. It was outside the walls, but it was where the crops for sanctuary were grown. They ringed the lake, and reached upwards towards the crest of the hills. They mostly grew razor-grain, because of the possible meals and ingredients that they could make with it. Other settlements supplied different crops, but most of the bread that Minutemen settlements ate came from the Sanctuary farm. From the top of the hill, Nate got a fantastic view of Sanctuary, from its grey stone walls, to the basin of crops. It was progress, bringing the world back to the roots it needed, where people helped each other, and everyone contributed.

The airship in the distance drew Nate's attention, and his mood darkened. He liked Danse and knew that the man was deeply rooted in his beliefs. He didn't know how a major force would react in the Commonwealth. He would have to meet with the leadership of the Brotherhood soon. He wasn't looking forward to it.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **New chapter, whoo! This is pretty much a filler chapter, leading to the next one, where the Minutemen and their allies discuss what type of government they want to implement, and how they plan on doing it. We'll get a better understanding of the political situation in the Commonwealth, now that several months have passed since Bunker Hill was destroyed, and how the Minutemen plan to deal with the Brotherhood of Steel. Keep in mind, this is a Minutemen fic, so they are the heroes here. My Brotherhood story is obviously not connected to this one. To cut those off who want to complain about the recruitment drive, let me tell you some math. Assuming that 95% of Massachusetts population died when the bombs fell, the immediate post war population would still be 343,651, and that's for 2017. Now, assuming we have a .5% population growth, in a year, that would double. By the time Fallout 4 comes around, the population would be in the hundreds of millions. That's way to large, so in this story, the population of the Commonwealth, which is the entire state of Massachusetts, is about 400,000, which is spread all throughout the state. If you think that is unrealistic, remember, in Fallout 2, the population of the NCR is around 700,000. Granted, the standard of living in the NCR is much nicer than the Commonwealth. Fenway Park, which is now Diamond City, has a capacity of 37,000 people, so let's assume that about five thousand people live in the city. Then we have Vault 81, which can hold 1000 people. Then let's assume that about two thousand live in Goodneighbour. Remember, in this story, the commonwealth is much bigger than it is in game. All-in-all, I think the 400,000 range is decent, because we also have to include raiders, the institute, and isolationists. Anyway, that's my rant for now. I might bring the population levels down, but I'm not sure yet.**

 **Cheers,**

 **Soviet_Babushka**


	18. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Nate was seated at the dining table in his house with Piper, Nick, Preston, Hancock, and Sturges. They were talking idly for now, but they knew that Nate had called them for a reason. Only Preston knew what the reason was, however.

"Thank you for coming." Nate began, silencing the room. "In the past year and a half, the Minutemen have risen from a dying militia to a major power in the Commonwealth. This has led to an issue, however. People look to us for most things, protection, food, hope, and I've gotten reports that some settlements are asking to pay taxes to us."

"Wait, are you serious? People are offering to pay taxes to you? Willingly?" Hancock was astounded. Goodneighbour didn't have taxes, which was why he was so surprised.

"Yeah, they feel that they owe it to us. I've talked with some of the settlement leaders. While they understand that while they are in charge of the civilian populace, pretty much for the most parts they look to what policies we establish here in Sanctuary, then implement them in smaller scales in their own towns." Nate took a sip of water. "Whether we like it or not, the Minutemen are seen as the leaders of the Commonwealth in the west. I've asked you here to talk about options, where we can go from here."

Silence settled over the room, before Sturges spoke up.

"While I greatly appreciate being part of this conversation, I do have to ask. Why am I here?" The mechanic was clearly confused by his presence, as the others were.

"Sturges, I talk to a lot of people. A lot, a lot. Do you know what the most common thing I hear here is?" Nate let him shake his head. "You lead the people here. When they need something, they come to you, and not because I'm not here. People actively seek you out because, despite what you think, you're a good leader. Maybe not a military one, like Preston or I," Nate motioned at himself and the original Minuteman, "But you're a civil leader, and I admire that about you. That's why you're here."

Piper was furiously scribbling into her notebook, but took a moment to pause and speak up.

"Am I here because you want me to spin whatever decision you make your way? Because you know that I won't do that." She told Nate, who shook his head.

"I want you to write about it, yes, but not in the way you're thinking. I want you to write about whatever we decide, but in the most impartial way you can. Comb through it all, find the good things and the bad, and explain them all. I want the people to know what they might be getting, and I want you to encourage them to _vote_ for it, because I don't want this to become a decision made by one group of people. Hire people to read them for people who can't. Do whatever you can to spread the word." Nate paused, letting the message sink in. Piper nodded and once more, started scribbling furiously.

"The first thing we need to recognize is that the Minutemen are an army, not a government, and while sometimes the two are the same, that isn't what's always best for the people. The first thing we need to _decide_ is whether the government and military should be a separate, or not." Nate leaned back in his chair, and watched the group before him start thinking.

Nick was the first one to speak, and his opinion honestly surprised Nate. "From what memories, I have of before the war, it was essentially a police state, and while some parts were definitely bad, most crime was eradicated rather quickly. It might be easier to keep the Minutemen in power."

"That's a fair point, Nick," Nate conceded, "But I didn't ask for what was easiest, but for what is best. We could have a police force that isn't connected to the Minutemen."

"Look at Diamond City," Piper interjected, "That's ruled by a civilian who was elected by civilians. He trampled the rights of ghouls, and is trying to snuff out free speech. I haven't met any Minutemen officers who are anything but dedicated to the people. Let them lead."

That definitely surprised Nate. He thought Piper would advocate for a democracy, or something of the likes. She saw the look he was giving her and smirked at him.

"'The officers in the Minutemen, for the most part, have come from the regular soldiers who show exemplary skills in leadership.' That's what you told me when I interviewed you the first time. They aren't privileged, and they don't think less of the settlers who work hard to live. In fact, they admire them more than city folk for the most part." She told the group, who was listening intently, but her eyes never left Nates'.

"Look, I ain't a fan of ruling, and I know you'd never force it on anybody, but if you're going to do it, make sure it's what's best for the people. If that means making the Minutemen the government, then so be it. I'd rather have you boys in power than someone like McDonough." Hancock chimed in. Sturges muttered his agreement.

Nate looked at Preston. "It seems like they've spoken. How do you want to proceed, general?" Nate asked him.

Preston thought for a moment, resting his chin on his hand. "Send someone for all the academics in our settlements, specifically those with knowledge on politics and government. I want a constitution written by the time the month's out."

Nate was about to rise when Preston spoke again. "Not just yet, Major. I have something else for you. I wanted to do this semi-privately first."

Nate didn't like the sound of that. "Effective immediate, you are now Colonel Thiel, field commander of the Minutemen."

Nate stared at Preston, who produced a helmet, and a silver pin. The helmet was dark green, and had the crossing muskets of the Minutemen painted on the back. The pin was the same symbol.

"All due respect, sir, that helmet doesn't match my uniform. Especially not my officers one." Nate informed Preston, who shrugged.

"I've been looking at pre-war military. They wore dark fatigues, and I think we should too. Gunners have been targeting our officer's due to the uniforms, and I want it to change." Preston said. "Basic combat fatigues, unadorned armour, except for rank on the bottom-back of the helmet. Show a more unified front."

Nate gave Preston an inquisitive look. "I thought we were still going with the old revolutionary style."

"Doesn't work. The only reason we're here is because of you, not our old ways. Our future lies in the past, but not that far back. I'm writing up the order now. It'll take time, but hopefully by summer we'll have it fully implemented. We'll start with new recruits, then give them to our current soldiers." Preston told him. Nate nodded, and placed the helmet on the table. Hancock produced a bottle of wine.

"Awesome, let's get wasted!"

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Another Chapter! This is the beginning of the major change in the Minutemen. This is really where they change from a professional militia to a professional army. And Nate's a colonel now! With the increase in numbers that are coming, we're going to see new officers, and a more formal Minutemen. Let me know what you think of the government the Minutemen are going to install.**

 **Cheers,**

 **Soviet_Babushka**


	19. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

 _Alaska- January 2_ _nd_ _, 2077_

 _Nate and Shaun were lying in a nest they had built high up in the Chugach Range. They watched as seemingly endless convoys of Chinese soldiers marched to reinforce their comrades in Anchorage. At the end of the year, General Constantine had launched an offensive that had pushed the Chinese to the outskirts of the Alaskan city, but now he wanted more information on the supply chain of the Chinese forces. Apparently, the pass that Nate's squad had wiped out hadn't slowed the logistics down much, which was a massive testament to Chinese manpower. The estimates were that almost 400,000,000 Chinese soldiers had been killed in the conflict, which was the entire population of the United States._

" _Jesus look at those guys go. I think that convoy is about two miles long." A voice cut in over the radio. It was Michael Doolan, one of the new recruits to the company._

 _Nate looked at Shaun, who was stifling a laugh._

" _Reaper 3, this is Reaper Actual, try to keep chatter on the channel to a minimum." Nate reminded the rookie._

" _Ah, right. Sorry lieutenant." Nate grimaced. His brevet promotion to captain hadn't been confirmed, but they had made him a lieutenant, simply since there weren't enough veteran officers, at any level._

 _Nate settled back into the silence, only the whipping of the winds and the distant sounds of engines filtering to him. Shaun nudged him, and pointed to the opposite ridgeline. A very bright scope glint was coming from Doolan's nest. Nate swore loudly._

" _Doolan, or McMahon, whichever one of you is screwing around with a scope, quit it, before they drop a shell on your position." Nate hissed into the radio. The glint disappeared, and Nate waited several long minutes, waiting for any sign of the Chinese finding them out._

 _Nothing happened, and Nate let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He squirmed backwards, and let Shaun take over watching the pass. His friend didn't seem to mind, and instead spread himself out into the extra space._

" _Make sure you send Nora my love as well. I haven't heard from her in a while. Big case maybe?" Shaun said into a private channel._

" _I dunno, man. I haven't heard from her either. Maybe when we get back to Juneau I'll get a letter." Nate replied._

" _Ah, crap dude. When do we go back?"_

" _Next week from what I understand. Unless something big happens and we're needed."_

 _The two didn't speak any more, and let the conversation drift away. The silence was welcome, and when he thought about it, he realized how glad he was that Shaun appreciated peace the same way he did. Doolan and McMahon were probably talking about how many Chinese soldiers they were going to kill. Nate remembered when he and Shaun were the same way, but at the time, Paul and Smitty had been with them. Now both just wanted to go home. Nate had no idea how much it would hurt when they did._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _Three hours later, after Nate had drifted off to sleep, he was woken by frantic swearing._

" _Nate, buddy, wake up. We've been found." Shaun called back to him. A second later, his anti-material rifle boomed out a round._

 _Nate was moving in a moment, grabbing his gun, and slinging his backpack over his back._

 _"The other two?" He asked. Shaun shook his head._

" _Gone. The idiots weren't paying attention and got a grenade thrown into the slit. Blew the both out. That's when I noticed the group moving towards us." Another shot rang out. "You good to bounce?"_

" _Yep, just let me call it in." Nate grabbed the hand-held radio used to communicate with the outpost near Cordova, which would send the chopper to pull them out. "CP Pluto, this is Reaper Actual, calling in with two casualties and the need for an immediate evac. We would greatly appreciate a QRF with our evac, if you can scrounge something up."_

" _Roger that Reaper Actual, we've got a Blackhawk coming your way. No QRF but we've scrambled a squadron of fighters. Good luck, and see you at home. CP Pluto out." The radio replied._

 _Nate groaned, but tapped Shaun on the leg. The sniper wriggled backwards, leaving the large .50 rifle in the nest. He grabbed a smaller DMR, and crawled out next to Nate, who promptly tossed a thermite grenade into the nest. The duo then took off at breakneck speed towards a small, very well-hidden trail, which would take them into the Chugach National Park. Hopefully they would be able to lose their pursuers there._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _It turns out that their pursuers were more tenacious than Nate would've originally given them credit for. He and Shaun were both walking wounded. Or running wounded. Nate had taken a round to the shoulder, and had a large cut on his lip where a rock sliced through it after a RPG round impacted the ground nearby. Shaun had lost his helmet, and had a woodchip sticking out of his forearm, as well a wicked cut across his eye. He could still see, but was constantly wiping blood from his face._

 _Nate found himself sliding down a hill towards a creek bed. He heard Shaun cry out from behind him, and saw his friend tumble forward, rolling past Nate. When he reached the bottom of the hill, Nate spun around and fired of a burst uphill, and somehow caught a soldier in the face._

" _Shaun! You alright, buddy?" He asked frantically._

" _Yep." Shaun groaned out. "Round caught me in the back plate. Caught me off guard is all, but I think I broke my ankle."_

 _Nate spared a look and saw that he was right. His ankle was twisted at an awkward angle, and he wouldn't be able to set it now. He would have to carry Shaun. He moved over to him, and pulled him onto his shoulder, which still allowed Shaun to fire behind him._

" _All right! I run, you shoot, got it?" Nate asked._

" _Yeah, yeah. I'm not going to live this down. Let's go, Hulk." Shaun sassed back._

 _Nate took off in a jog, as fast as he could go with all his gear, and then Shaun and his gear on his back. He could hear Shaun firing off shots as he sang the national anthem, which would've normally made Nate smile. Now, however, he was focusing on staying upright, and following the markers he had placed before. They couldn't be more than a mile from the extraction point._

 _Nate had been hit in the arm by the time they reached the evac point. At that very moment, several fighters screamed overhead, and a loud buzzing filled the air. Nate heard as the pursuing Chinese soldiers were torn up by the cannon. The Blackhawk touched down, and Nate lowered Shaun into it. The gunner helped pull Nate into the chopper, and he then noticed the medic working on Shaun. He was doing compression on his chest, and preforming CPR. He pulled the radio down from the chopper wall._

" _CP Pluto, this is Viking 5-3, we have a critical injury on board, and we'll need the trauma team on standby." He slammed the radio back into its receiver, and went back to working on Shaun._

 _Nate was about to move over to his friend when another medic forced him to sit. Nate began struggling when the gunner was called over to hold him, and once the strong man had a grip on him, Nate felt a needle slide into his neck. He blacked out after a few heartbeats._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _When Nate woke up, he was cuffed to a bed. Colonel Nelson was sitting beside him, but when he looked around he couldn't see Shaun. He tried to sit up but found that not only was he cuffed, but he was strapped down completely as well._

" _I'm sorry, son. I didn't want them to but you fought mighty hard on the chopper. It's protocol." Nelson explained._

" _Shaun?" Nate managed to get out. Nelson looked at him sadly._

" _I'm sorry, Nate. Shaun was hit in the back by a large calibre round. It fractured his spine, and shrapnel from it pierced his lungs. He didn't make it." Colonel Nelson told him._

 _Nate was silent as he took in the news. Shaun had been his best friend for a long time, and the thought that he was gone was terrifying. He didn't know what he was going to do. Colonel Nelson patted his leg, and then rose to leave._

" _Sir?" Nate said. "Can I see him?"_

" _When you're better. I'm sending both of you home." Nelson informed him._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _January 6_ _th_ _, 2077- Boston International Airport._

 _Nora put her hand on her stomach as she watched the plane taxi down the runway. She had panicked when she had found out she was pregnant, and had stopped sending letters to Nate, and by extension, Shaun. She knew anything she had told Shaun would've been relayed to Nate. But when the letter had arrived saying that Nate was coming home, Nora was determined to be there for him. She knew that if Nate was coming back, Shaun would be coming with him._

 _The plane rolled to a halt, and the rear hatch opened. Several soldiers walked out, but Nora couldn't see Nate. She saw several Delta members disembark, but didn't see Paul, Shaun, Smitty, or even Mitch, the new guy on Nate's team. She began worrying, not sure where her husband was. From the rear of the plane, she saw the outline of a box. It was long, and rectangular, and fear gripped her. The sight she saw broke her more than she had thought it would. Nate emerged from the plane, carrying the box on his shoulder. There was no sign of Shaun anywhere, and she knew what it meant. Three more boxes came out from the plane, and suddenly everything became so much clearer. The reason Nate hadn't written to her about coming home was that he was mourning, and didn't know what to do._

 _Nora could see Nate's face at this point. It was impassive, but he looked ten years older. He had stitches on his lip, and she could tell that they would scar over. Nate and the other three carried the coffin over to Shaun's parents. Shaun's mother was crying, and as soon as the coffin was put down, she threw herself into Nate's arms, sobbing loudly. The mood had turned from happy and excited to sombre. No one was cheering anymore, and many saluted the coffins of the Delta Force team. Nora held back her own tears. She had known Shaun since the 7_ _th_ _grade, and losing him was like losing a brother._

 _The other families that had been waiting for their serving members to return were devastated. Nora could see Paul's family crying over his coffin, and Mitch's girlfriend being held by a friend. Smitty's wife had collapsed, and was being helped by her brother. His son had a look of disbelief on his face. Nate extracted himself from Shaun's mother and made his way over to Nora. He finally caught a glimpse of her expanding stomach and gaped._

" _Are you?" He shook his head, before engulfing her in a massive hug, and kissing her fiercely. She replied in kind, and then held Nate tight._

" _It's okay, honey. We'll be fine." She assured him. "We'll call him Shaun. He would've loved that. Imagine it, he would've called him junior."_

 _Nate just sobbed into her shoulder, but Nora couldn't tell whether it was from happiness or sadness. It didn't matter to her. She just needed to be here for him._

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Okay, so, that was pretty tense. This is going to be the last flashback in a while, so a dedicated a whole chapter to it. This shows what happened to Nate and Shaun, and why he comes home from Alaska. Fun fact, January 6** **th** **, 2077 is the day that Anchorage was liberated, so I thought it fitting that Nate finds out that is wife is pregnant with his child on the same day. Also, I'm thinking that once I'm done with this story, I might do one about Shaun and Nate in ten years that they served in the army, during the Sino-American War. Let me know what you think, either through a review or a PM.**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushaka**


	20. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Preston had decided to send a messenger to Elder Maxson, to have a meeting face to face. Or rather, Nate would be having the discussion face to face with the elder. Both sides were meeting at Saugus Ironworks, and could bring six other members of their respective faction. Shaw, O'Hara, Hale, Larkin, and Morgan accompanied him. Tanner and MacCready were set three-hundred yards away, with a radio ready in case a quick reaction force needed to be called in. Nate hoped it wouldn't come to that. From what Danse and Haylen had told him, Maxson believed in protecting the people, and was smart enough to know that alliances would be useful. The only thing that worried him was the fact that he actually had no idea who Maxson was as a person. Anyone who flew a military airship surrounded by Vertibirds into a notoriously paranoid territory, and then proceeded to announce that they had peaceful intentions, probably didn't come with peaceful intentions.

Nate was wearing the new standard uniform of the Minutemen, which comprised of olive pants that were tucked into combat boots, an olive jacket, which had a combat vest over it, and, continuing the pattern, olive wool gloves. The helmet that Nate wore was olive, like the rest of his uniform, but on the back, was the symbol of the new Minutemen, two crossing muskets, in a lighter silver. It didn't blend, but it signified his intent to lead from the front. Shaw wore the same uniform, but instead of the silver muskets, she had a silver star, representing her rank as a major.

The others, however, wore a different uniform. Like the rest of the Minutemen, the First Company underwent an equipment change. Ditching the mottled cloaks that they had worn, the men instead wore light khaki fatigues, with supported boots, and netted helmets. Face paint was common amongst the first, and most simply smeared their faces black, which was unsettling for most. They still used the M4A6 Carbine, but most were stripped of excess parts, to lighten the weight that they carried. Despite the loss of the cloaks they had been trained in, the First Company was still a stealth unit. All in all, Nate was content with the new style, if not for the time it took to make sure everyone had the new gear.

Nate's thoughts were interrupted by the heavy beating of rotors. A Vertibird was approaching the factory, and soon touched down. Three soldiers in power armour quickly dismounted and sprinted ahead, making sure the landing zone was clear, and most likely also attempting to intimidate the Minutemen. It didn't work. Nate just stared at the soldiers dispassionately until the remaining three dismounted from the Vertibird. Out of his armour, Nate almost didn't recognize Paladin Danse, who was wearing an interesting set of fatigues that looked rather like the ones of the armies in the early 21st century. Standing nearby was a tall, lanky man wearing glasses that Nate assumed would be some scribe or another, but he wasn't the leader. No, that title belonged to the young man striding forward ahead of the two. Nate judged him to be almost nine years younger than him, putting him at nineteen or twenty years old. The man slowed to a halt in front of Nate, who looked him up and down.

"Elder Maxson, I presume?" Nate asked, although it was redundant.

"I am. You must be Colonel Thiel, then. Let's get down to business, shall we?" The young man stated firmly.

Nate had to give him credit, Maxson certainly knew how to take charge of a situation.

"Of course, if you don't mind, I'd like to head inside, where the chances of a lucky shot hitting us a sufficiently decreased." Maxson nodded, and both groups entered the ironworks.

Since Nate and Preston had Saugus Ironworks cleared of raiders, the factory had been cleaned up, and was producing solid iron once more, which was used for a plethora of things. The large group made its way to what used to be the manager's office, which had been set up to accommodate the talks. Once Maxson and his group were settled, Nate spoke, pre-empting any thought the elder had of leading these talks.

"I want to start off by thanking you for agreeing to come here, elder." Nate told him respectfully. "I'd like to follow it by telling you something very simple right away. We will tolerate no abuse of the people who live in the commonwealth. If you need something, you pay for it, or trade for it. There is no requisitioning resources, and there is no bullying the people. That is the only thing I will enforce until my last breath. The rest is negotiable."

Maxson blinked, and then scowled. "And what of the Minutemen? Where do they get their supplies?" He demanded.

"If we can't make our own?" Nate began, "We buy them from traders. Most settlements west of Boston, but north of the Glowing Sea are under our protection, and give us food or caps as thanks for it, but we don't require it, and we certainly don't force them to do it. I understand that the Brotherhood is a military force in a foreign land, but foreign doesn't equal hostile. We will gladly trade with you for supplies, or anything you need, really."

Maxson was silent for a second, before he spoke again. "And what are your goals here? Are you establishing yourselves as the leading power here? Should I fear for the safety of my men if you decide you don't like our agenda?"

"Not at all. Dangerous technology is, by definition, dangerous. I'd rather you have it than some idiot raider. But not all technology is dangerous. Agriculture, industry, construction, all those techs are used to better mankind." Nate paused, letting the message sink in. "But enough of this debate, let's settle this down to what we really need to talk about. How our interests interact and counteract with yours."

"We are here with one goal, and one goal only. To destroy the institute and the abominations known as Synths." Maxson declared proudly.

Nate looked at the young man closely. "The institute, I understand, but why all Synths? You're advocating a genocide of a sentient species and I can't allow that." Nate informed the elder.

One of the Brotherhood soldiers scoffed, and muttered to his partner, "Like these hicks could stop us." He didn't even have time to react before Morgan was in front of him, looking unamused.

Elder Maxson rose, but Nate just whistled loudly, and Morgan backed off, glaring at the soldier the entire time.

"Elder, we're being respectful of you, I'd greatly appreciate it if you and your men would do the same. I'd like an apology from that man." Nate said. He heard the power armoured giant laugh. It didn't last long.

"Knight Rhys, I would like you to apologise at one to Colonel Thiel and his men, who have been hosting us graciously." The elder ordered. Nate's eyes widened a fraction, but returned to their normal position shortly.

The knight shuffled forwards, mumbling an apology. Danse cleared his throat loudly and stared pointedly at the night, who apologised again, but clearer. Nate nodded at Maxson.

"Synths are not living things, and I won't abide them. Neither should you, for that fact. I've heard the stories about what the Institute did to you. To your family." Maxson didn't get to finish. Nate had rise so quickly that everyone was shocked, including his own men. No weapon had been drawn but it was clear that Nate was enough of a threat as it is.

"If you want these talks to end peacefully, you will never mention my family again. As for Synths, I never said they were living, I said they were sentient. They have thoughts, they want things for themselves, that makes them intelligent. I agree that the Institute needs to be destroyed, but I, and General Garvey, will not support a genocide on this scale. Or any genocide for that matter." Nate growled at the elder, who, to his credit, didn't betray any fear, aside from the glean in his eyes.

"I understand. I apologize if I upset you. It was not my-" Nate cut the man off.

"It was your intention. You wanted to see what it would take to push me to violence, and you guessed my family would be the best way to do it. You were right, because now I'm not only angry, but annoyed. This was going to be a civil conversation, but now let me tell you how this works. You can expand as far north as the Revere Beach Station, and as far east and Nordhagen Beach That little peninsula belongs to you. You can also keep the police station in Cambridge, but know that we'll be watching. Any attempts to push past those borders will result in retaliation." Nate took a deep breath in. "If you think that airship will keep you safe, you are horribly mistaken. Do not look to the Minutemen for aid. I will allow you to operate in Boston, but leave the limits of the city, and I will consider it trespassing. Do not try me elder. I'm much more dangerous than you want to deal with."

Danse looked utterly shocked by the turn of events, and even Maxson had begun to gape at him. This was a far cry from the Nate that either of them had seen or heard of. This was a man that promised death and destruction, fear and suffering. Nate had no emotion in his eyes or on his face, but inside, he was seething. He turned on his heel, and walked to the door. While the others marched out, Nate looked over his shoulder to the Brotherhood group.

"You have an hour to return to your territory." Nate grinned at the group, which was unnerving. "I hope we can do this again, Elder Maxson. This was enlightening. For the both of us, I think."

With that, Nate left the room, leaving a stunned Elder Maxson in his wake.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Woo! Chapter Eighteen, Minutemen meet the Brotherhood. So, to explain the new uniforms. One, I wanted to make it more basic and utilitarian, and two, I wanted it to be cool. The regular Minuteman uniform is essentially that of the US Army in WW2, while the First Company is basically the Paratrooper uniform of the 101** **st** **Airborne. Granted, they aren't paratroopers, but it looks cool. Also, to get this out of the way now, The Minutemen and the Brotherhood will not be enemies, more rivals. Leave a review, and let me know what you think!**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushka**


	21. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

The flight back to the Prydwen was silent. Paladin Danse hadn't said anything since the Minutemen had left, and Knight Rhys was quiet as usual. It gave Arthur the time to ponder over everything that had just occurred. This was the first time since he became elder that he had been on the back foot. Colonel Thiel had dominated the meeting from the start, and he had been right about many things, including Arthur's attempt to force him to violence. The elder had wanted to see what would happen if the colonel was put under pressure. It didn't end well, and now the Brotherhood would be viewed as an occupying force, instead of a liberating one. Not including the Airport, they had one settlement under their control, and even then, it's people had fled as soon as the Brotherhood arrived, leaving Arthur to man the farms with scribes and initiates.

The Vertibird docked in the Prydwen, and Arthur marched up to his room, avoiding all personnel, including Lancer-Captain Kells, who Arthur was sure would get the story from Danse. He collapsed into his chair and ran a hand through his hair, short as it was. The meeting was supposed to work out an alliance, or at least a non-aggression pact, with the Minutemen. Now, he had made an enemy of them, and was limited to a single peninsula in East Boston and an outpost in Cambridge. Maxson wasn't one for taking ultimatums, but this was one he couldn't ignore. Until Liberty Prime was operational, Maxson and the Brotherhood were in a precarious position.

"Elder, you need to come to the flight deck!" A voice came over the intercom.

Arthur rose, and exited his room, before climbing down the ladder and walking onto the flight deck. Kells and Danse were clearly having an argument, which was rare enough. The fact that Kells and Danse were yelling at each other was something else.

"You assured me that they would not be a threat!" Kells hissed at Danse.

"They wouldn't have been if we hadn't attempted to intimidate and manipulate them! I warned you all that these men weren't a private militia, and that they had the discipline and capacity to be a serious force!" Danse shot back.

"What is going on?" Arthur demanded. Both men looked down, before Proctor Ingram, who had been standing nearby passed him a pair of binoculars.

"To the south, is Fort Independence, also known as the Castle. Look at the ramparts." Ingram informed him.

He looked through, and at the fort, saw three large artillery pieces pointed towards the Prydwen. Standing next to them was none other than Colonel Thiel, who waved towards Arthur. The elder lowered the binoculars and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ingram, Danse, I want you to schedule another meeting with Colonel Thiel. The two of you will attend, and write up a draft for a potential agreement. Once it's done, bring it back to me, I'll review it, and make any changes I see necessary." Arthur said. Danse snapped off a salute and hustled off, while Ingram remained. "Yes, Proctor?"

"Are you sending me because you feel I'll have an easier time communicating?" Ingram asked.

"Yes, Proctor, I am." Maxson replied.

"Is it because I find it easier to emphasize with people, elder?" She asked again.

"Yes, Ingram, you are, admittedly, a better people person than I am. That is why you are going." Arthur told her. She grinned at him, and strolled off to find Danse.

"Captain Kells?" Arthur called out. The man hurried over to his side. "Recall any patrols north of Revere Beach Station, and depending on their location, send them either to Cambridge, or back to the airport. Whichever is closest to us."

Kells gave him a quizzical look, but obeyed, leaving to return to the bridge. Arthur took one last look towards the Castle, before walking to the observation deck.

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"Oh, yeah. Danse and that other dude are going at it." MacCready announced, nestled underneath a tarp next to Nate. "Look-ey here. Elder Maxson just walked onto the deck. He's being handed binoculars. Wave, now!"

Nate waved cheerily, and grinned. This would cause the elder to worry, no doubt about it. The old makeshift mortars at the Castle had been replaced with powerful 105mm howitzers. They had found the blueprints for them while combing through Fort Hagen, once Kellog was gone. They also found records of a massive cache of shells in the glowing see, and the Third Company had been dispatched to get them, which they did. Most settlements still had the old mortars, but once production ramped up on the howitzers, each settlement would get at least one.

"Alright, they're all gone." Nate stopped waving, and turned to walk off the walls.

MacCready followed him, and the two made their way to Nate's office. It was really the generals room, but Nate was spending more and more of his time at the Castle, so Preston had officially granted command of the fort to him. There was a desk, a large table for conferences, and several filing cabinets. A single bed was pushed against the wall, taking up almost no space. Nate sat down behind his desk, while MacCready lounged on a sofa. There were several files that had _IMPORTANT_ stamped on them in red ink, so he looked at them first. This was the less glamorous part of being a high-ranking officer, the paperwork.

The file he was reading was a report submitted by Captain Savoldi of the newly-formed 7th company. It stated that there was an increase in Gunner operations in South Boston. They were pushing against both Jamaica Plains and Egret Marina, which now housed a river boat used to patrol the Charles River. The gunners were trying to break through the 'Jamaica Line' as it was called. The 7th company had fought off three incursions, as well as two assaults on the marina. Nate read the report to MacCready, who frowned.

"Well there's two options we can take here, boss. Option one, reinforce the 7th with another company. That ties up manpower and logistical support. Option two, hit back. The gunners are probably hitting the Jamaica line because of its proximity to Gunner Plaza. We don't have the 105's there yet, so we can't hit that far, but once we do, we'll be able to shell the hell outta them, and they don't want that." The former mercenary stated.

"So, what? Who do we send, RJ? The first? The second?" Nate asked.

"Why not the third? It would also be a big middle-finger to the Brotherhood when they find out who's leading the company." MacCready offered. "He's also been drilling the guys hard. They need some action, and what better way to scratch the paint?"

Nate thought about it. It could cause a diplomatic issue with the Brotherhood, but frankly, he didn't care. The captain was skilled as well, and this would be a great way to introduce the third company to combat. He made up his mind.

"Put the call out for the third company to come to the Castle." Nate ordered. MacCready rose, saluted, and left.

Robert Joseph MacCready was probably the best officer Nate had trained. The man had been a hired gun when he had met him, and had demanded a service fee for working with the Minutemen. Nate had humoured him, and payed him well. The two had travelled together for a few months, before RJ revealed his son's disease to Nate. He had immediately jumped to help, and the two had decimated a small Gunner company in the process. Thinking on it, Nate realized that was probably why they were so desperate to kill him. Afterwards, RJ had asked Nate what it would take to join the Minutemen, in any capacity. He had immediately taken the young man under his wing.

Nate's new protégé turned out to be a natural officer. As a sniper, MacCready's senses were finely tuned, and the result was that he could pick up small shifts on the battlefield that Nate would miss. His tactical acumen increased tremendously, and Nate even learned a few things from the sniper. MacCready took to his new role with a passion. With Nate now mostly confined to desk work, MacCready was the new field commander for the 1st Company. The men, while missing Nate, liked MacCready immensely, and Jun Long had confided with Nate that he liked the captain's method of leadership, which allowed much more flexibility for squad leaders than they were used to. It wasn't a slight on Nate's leadership, but when he had led the first, they rarely deployed at full company strength all at once. Nate sighed, and moved onto the next file. It would be a long night.

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Three days later, the 3rd Company arrived at the castle. While they were getting settled in, Nate met with their captain, a man he had personally recruited, but now needed to reaffirm his loyalties.

"Captain Brandis, it's a pleasure as always." Nate started civilly. The former Paladin nodded at him.

"Colonel, all due respect, I'm old, not senile. Ask me what you want, and I'll answer it truthfully." Brandis responded quickly. Nate smiled at him.

"Very well. With the appearance of the Brotherhood of Steel in force, do you feel conflicted with your prior allegiance to them?" Nate questioned.

"At first, sir, I did. But like everyone, I've heard about how Elder Maxson treated you at the talks at Saugus. While I respect the elder for his leadership, I respect you and General Garvey more. I will have no issues working against their goals, if it conflicts with our own." The captain answered strongly.

"Thank you, captain. And what if they want you back?" Nate pressed.

"Well they waited three years to look for me, so they bloody well won't get me back, sir." Brandis responded hotly.

"It's alright captain. I like you a lot more than I like them. I'm keeping you." Nate said softly. Brandis laughed at that.

"My orders, sir?" In a flash, Brandis was once more Captain Brandis, and Nate was Colonel Thiel.

"The gunners have been pushing us hard at the Jamaica line, here," Nate showed Brandis the position on the map, "I need you and the Third Company to accomplish two goals. The first is to liaison with Captain Savoldi, and find out where he needs to most help. Once that's accomplished, I want you and your boys to push south, towards Gunner's Plaza, and wipe it off the map."

"That's a big fight sir." Brandis pointed out. "They've been dug in there for years now. I might need help."

"The Seventh Company will assist, if you need it. Further than that? I'll send in the First and Second. Four companies should easily deal with the Gunners, but I wanted the Third to get a chance to get dirty." Nate informed him. Brandis nodded once more.

"Alright Colonel. When do you want us to depart?" He asked.

Nate grinned at him.

"Yesterday, soldier!"

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Chapter Nineteen! Whoo! I wanted to show the aftermath of the meeting at Saugus Iron Works. For those of you who feel Maxson isn't being fascist enough, I would like to point out that he is a smart man. He knows that the Minutemen hold massive sway in the Commonwealth, and while he has the Prydwen, he can't use it to subjugate almost half a million people. Now that the Minutemen have 105mm howitzers, the Prydwen is in a much more precarious situation, and without our favourite communist-hating deathbot, the Brotherhood doesn't have the advantage here. Also, Brandis is a Minuteman Captain! I always liked his character, and wished that a Minutemen player could recruit him instead of sending him back to the brotherhood. So Nate did exactly that, but obviously before they arrived. The Third Company is made up of men in Power Armour. Not T-60 or T-51 sets, but scavenged T-45 sets and repurposed raider power armour. Obviously no X-01 armour. Let me know what you think!**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushka.**


	22. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

 **I'd quickly like to address something here, that pertains to many of my stories. Some of my typos are intentional, such as 'ain't' 'gonna' etc. I use this because I don't want the dialogue to sound robotic, or forced, and sometimes incorrect grammar is used to portray this. Thank you for your time, and now back to your regularly scheduled chapter.**

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"I'm surprised that you organized a meeting so quickly, Danse. And who would your stunning companion be?" Nate asked, which drew a chuckle from the woman in power armour.

"Elder Maxson authorized this meeting, hoping that you'd respond better to a familiar face." Danse informed Nate politely.

"I think he's realized that the Minutemen aren't some redneck militia anymore. I'm sure the artillery got your attention." Nate laughed. "By the way, who was that charming fellow in the funny hat you were arguing with? You both looked rather unhappy."

Danse was silent, and Nate assumed he was digesting the news that he had been able to see the deck of the Prydwen from the Castle. The power armoured lady stepped forward.

"Good afternoon, Colonel Thiel. My name is Proctor Ingram. I was sent because I'm nicer than the alternatives. May we begin?" She inquired politely. Nate nodded.

"Oh, I like you already. Respectful, informative, but still taking command. The world needs more people like you. Please, follow me into the manor." Nate led the group into what was most assuredly once a beautiful house. Now, it was ringed with scaffolding and wooden beams.

The meeting had been organized in Nahant, at Croup Manor. While the manor wasn't officially claimed by any group, it was known that it was Nate's pet project. He was rebuilding the Manor, for purposes unknown. There was a large dining table, and Nate sat down at the head of it. He waved his hand, and the others sat, except for Proctor Ingram, who remained standing. Not like she had another choice.

"Let's begin by discussing boundaries. The border I gave to Maxson remains. You can keep Cambridge. You will be allowed to operate outside of Minutemen borders, which are defined on this map." Nate produced a rolled map from a leather tube, and spread it across the table. Stretching from Sanctuary in the North, to Fort Hagen in the south, and as far east as Salem, the Minutemen held a clear majority of the Commonwealth. For the most part, Boston itself was unclaimed, but privately, Nate and Preston had discussed what to do with the city.

"And what if something happens inside Minutemen borders? Say a patrol crosses over." Ingram asked.

"They'll be asked to surrender, and we will detain them. A messenger will be sent to the airport, and the first patrol will be released with the assurance it doesn't happen again. A second patrol will be ransomed back. A third patrol will be imprisoned, and we will close off all trade with the Brotherhood." Nate answered simply. Ingram nodded, but didn't look happy.

"And what of Minutemen patrols?" Danse asked.

"We won't enter your lands, unless you enter ours. We'll respect this treaty, if you do. It's that simple." Nate was already bored of the discussion, but kept his face blank.

"And what of resources and recruits? We can trade with you for food, but can we recruit wastelanders?" Ingram spoke up again, after several minutes of silence.

"As long as the recruitment is voluntary. Conscription isn't a thing here, nor will it ever be. If people come to you asking to join, fine. We won't stop them." Nate replied.

The next few hours were spent discussing relations. The Minutemen wouldn't interfere with any Brotherhood operations they came across, and vice versa. The Brotherhood would pay or barter for all supplies they received, and the Minutemen wouldn't cut them off unless the treaty was violated. Both groups would allow the safe passage of the others. It went on that way for a while, and Nate was almost worried nothing interesting would happen. He was glad he was wrong.

Just as the meeting started winding down, the loud clanking of power armour filled the air. Danse and Ingram looked confused, because they didn't have anyone nearby. Nate stifled a laugh.

A man wearing the Minutemen's only set of T-51b Power Armour entered the Manor. It was painted with a motley of colours, and blended well in most urban and forest environments. The left pauldron was painted solid black, which indicated that this was a captain. Specifically, Captain Brandis. Nate grinned. This would be good.

Brandis lifted his helmet off, and ignored the shocked gasp from Ingram, and the gaping Danse.

"Colonel, I'd like to report that Gunner's Plaza has been cleared of all hostiles. We captured just over one hundred prisoners. More… important matters will clearly have to be discussed at another time. I wasn't aware you were in a meeting. No one informed me." The captain said to Nate.

"Brandis?" Ingram managed to say. The former paladin looked towards the proctor.

"Proctor Ingram. Paladin Danse. It's been a while." Brandis said simply before turning and walking out the building.

Ingram and Danse shared a look, before the proctor found her voice.

"Excuse us, colonel. We need to return to the Prydwen immediately. Shall we continue this meeting later?" She said. Nate nodded.

"Of course. Contact me when you want to meet. I'll be around." He offered innocently.

The two representatives rushed out of the manor, and Nate heard the Vertibird they had arrived in take-off rapidly, before shooting off to the Prydwen. He grinned to himself. He was in a mischievous mood today. MacCready came into the room, an inquisitive look on his face.

"They saw Brandis." Was Nate's simple explanation.

"Ah, that would do it. I hope you're ready for the consequences of this." MacCready told him. Nate nodded.

He was ready.

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On board the Prydwen, things were not going as well. When Paladin Danse had informed Elder Maxson that Brandis was operating as a Minutemen officer, the young man had gone into a rage. It was very rare to see Arthur lose his composure, but this was one of those moments. Danse had only seen it one other time, and he knew that it had only happened three times since he ascended to elder.

"I want him brought to me and questioned. IF his answers for why he didn't re-join aren't satisfactory, I want him executed!" Maxson raged. Kells actually flinched, and for a moment, Danse didn't think anyone was going to speak up. To his relief, Ingram did.

"Elder, that's not a good idea. Brandis was a respected Paladin, but it has been almost four years since he went missing. When the Minutemen recruited him, he may have assumed we were never going to look for him. He's also an officer. We can't just apprehend him, or we risk opening a conflict." The proctor calmly stated.

Teagan snorted. "What can they do? If we strike first, and fast, they lose the advantage they have on us."

"I disagree, Proctor Teagan." Danse interjected. All looked towards him. It wasn't very often Danse offered his opinions in these meetings, but when he did, he had a good reason. "They're watching us. Closely, too. They had a visual on us when we were on the flight deck, and Colonel Thiel casually mentioned my argument with Lancer-Captain Kells. The minute we start mobilizing a force, they'll be aware. All the outposts will be informed that there is a large brotherhood force on the move, and if we begin heading towards the Castle, they won't hesitate to fire those guns at us."

Maxson looked up from where he was sitting.

"You are sure of this, Danse?" He asked.

"Sirs, Ma'am. I've been in the Commonwealth for close to six months now. Two months in, I met Colonel Thiel and his men. In that time, the Minutemen have added three new settlements to their territory, and trained six hundred new soldiers, as well as reformed their military." Danse paused, to allow the information to sink in. "Chances are, more are being trained. The Minutemen have the love of the people. If we strike the Minutemen, we alienate the people of the Commonwealth, and then, as Colonel Thiel informed us, we become an occupation force, not the liberating one we want to be seen as. It is my personal, and professional, opinion that we have a serious discussion with the Minutemen."

What do you think we've been doing, Danse?" Ingram asked, slowly.

"Patronizing and insulting them. To be perfectly candid, we are not treating them as an actual power in the Commonwealth, which they are, but instead as a minor faction that we tolerate because it's convenient. Not only is that wrong, but it's incredibly stupid. We insulted their second in command, and he responded by pointing three howitzers at us _as a warning._ We can't afford to make a divide with them." Danse slowed down, to let Elder Maxson take control of the situation. Instead, Arthur waved him on. "Right now, the issue is that Brandis has seemingly abandoned his responsibility to the Brotherhood, but we need to look at the situation deeper. It was only Brandis."

"Yes, we understand it was Brandis, paladin." Quinlan said, confused.

"No, sir. It was _only_ Brandis. None of his recon squad. I'm assuming he was the only survivor. The trauma he faced probably broke him, and joining the Minutemen gave him a purpose again. If we were to take the purpose from him, what kind of people would we be?" Danse asked the group. None responded.

"We insulted their second in command, then sent a subordinate to go negotiate with them. While Colonel Thiel is not in charge of the Minutemen, he is their field commander. He holds tremendous sway. If we want to survive here, we should negotiate, and we should do it earnestly. Of course, we could go to war, but I don't want to think of the consequences that would have." Danse finished speaking, and sat back down into his seat.

The group was silent. No one spoke. Then, Arthur rose from his seat.

"Thank you, Danse. Please contact Colonel Thiel, and tell him I'd like to meet with him, aboard the Prydwen if possible. And that I assure his safe passage and conduct aboard." Maxson ordered. Danse rose from his seat, and saluted the group. He left the room, and made his way to the communications relay.

Danse dialled in the frequency he knew he could reach Nate on.

"Colonel Thiel, this is Paladin Danse, do you copy?" He spoke into the microphone.

"I hear you loud and clear, Paladin Danse. How may I be of assistance this fine day?" Came Nate's reply.

"Elder Maxson has invited you to meet on the Prydwen, and guarantees as safe journey, for negotiations." The receiver was silent for a moment.

"All right. I'll be at the airport in twenty minutes. Thiel out." He replied.

"Wait, what?" Danse wasn't sure he heard him correctly. There was no answer, and instead, only static, for a brief moment.

Then, a new voice came over the radio. It belonged to Nate's second in command, Captain MacCready, who Danse had met once before.

"Paladin Danse, Colonel Thiel will be approaching the airport from the western beach. Please inform your men not to shoot at him." The captain sounded exasperated, and Danse didn't blame him.

"Understood, captain. Thank you for informing me." Danse hung up the mike, and went to inform the elder that Nate was coming.

He just hoped neither of them had any malicious intentions.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Chapter Twenty is out! More negotiations, and the Brotherhood finds out that Brandis lives. Soon, we'll see the next meeting between Nate and Maxson, but this one is on the Prydwen, so it should be an interesting meeting. If anyone can guess where Nate was that he can get to the Prydwen so fast, I'll be a happy Soviet. As always, leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushka**


	23. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Danse stood at the western beach of the Airport, looking north. MacCready had told him that was where Nate would come from, so it was where he was waiting. There was a squad of initiates that were to act as an honour guard. Danse had no idea why Nate would be coming down the coast, but he decided not to think on it too hard.

"What the- is that a mirelurk?" One of the initiates asked. Danse turned to where he was pointing, where a large black shape emerged from the water.

Danse slammed the rifle the initiate was holding down, which caught the man off guard. The figure in the water pulled the mask off his face, to reveal a smiling Nate Thiel.

"Now this," he gestured with his hands, to the initiates pointing their weapons at him, "is a welcoming party. I always love being threatened by people. Makes me feel less bad when I kill them."

Danse was certain he heard an initiate whimper, something he would deal with later.

"Lower your weapons," he barked, "This is our guest. Did you swim here?"

"Oh, totally. There's an old Chinese submarine nearby. I'm friends with the captain. We've been reminiscing the good ol' days." Nate told him casually. Danse took the information in.

"A pre-war submarine. In Boston. And you're friends with the captain?" Danse was thoroughly confused. How could Nate build a friendship with a man who probably destroyed his city?

"Yeah, Zao's a decent man. Really regrets launching his nukes. Also offered to bomb you guys out of the sky if you screwed with me again." The threat was delivered so casually that Danse almost missed it. One of the initiates took offence.

"The Brotherhood is the best option for the Commonwealth. Why Elder Maxson doesn't have us just shoot you now is beyond me." The young man sneered.

Danse paled, and Nate stopped walking. The initiate looked pleased with himself, but that quickly changed when Nate turned towards Danse.

"Is _that_ your plan? Get me onboard your nice airship, interrogate me, and then shoot me? God, that plan is so awful, I'm actually surprised. But if I don't leave this base, everyone goes boom. And then a ballistic missile slams into whatever is left. If you're going to shoot me, do it now." Nate's tone made even Danse panic. It wasn't an idle threat, Nate most likely had made those plans.

"Knight Jocelyn, apprehend that initiate, and lock him in the brig." Elder Maxson's voice interjected into the conversation. Danse let a sigh of relief out.

"So, am I getting shot or not? Because if I am, I'd like it done sooner than later." Nate's tone was chipper, and the worry seeped back into Danse.

"No, there will be no executions today. This was a terrible mistake instigated by a initiate who thought he knew my will. He will be punished, I assure you." Maxson's tone was tough, but that was normal.

"Good. Shall we continue, then?" Nate asked Arthur, who nodded. The two boarded a Vertibird, and as soon as Danse was onboard, it shot upwards, and connected to the Prydwen a few moments later.

Nate was led to the observation deck, where Proctor Quinlan was waiting with a typewriter of all things. Danse saw Nate arch an eyebrow, but the colonel didn't say anything else. Elder Maxson offered him a whiskey, which he cautiously accepted. He downed his glass in one shot, and placed it on the table.

"You're about twenty, if I'm right, which I usually am. So, let me start off by saying this. You've got balls of steel, kid. No pun intended." Nate started. Maxson was silent, and then let out a short burst of laughter.

"Not many people have the capacity to talk to me like that. It's an interesting change." Maxson commented lightly. Nate snorted.

"That's because everyone fears you, kid. Or they respect you too much to want to. And while respect and fear is fine and all as a leader, you never want yes-men. I'll give you that advice for free." Nate disclosed to Maxson, who was listening intently. "I'll give you this as well, and then we can start negotiating. Yes-men get people killed, and while it is almost never you, it'll be the people who look to you to keep them alive."

Maxson swallowed the knowledge. "That's an interesting opinion, Colonel Thiel."

"I watched as yes-men led my world to atomic fire. I won't let it happen again." Nate responded, rather coldly. "Now, negotiations. I understand you have a slight fetish for advanced technology. Let's start by discussing that."

Maxson eyed Nate intently, and Danse worried for a second that he would say something to derail the talks. Instead, to Danse's pride, Maxson took it in stride.

"Our 'fetish' as you call it, is to prevent another nuclear cleansing in the world. We have no issues allowing the wasters to hold some technologies, as long as they cannot use it to cause harm upon others. We police technology to save them." Arthur dictated.

"Uh huh. And what about the people who don't know the tech is dangerous, only that its kept them alive? How do you deal with them?" Nate countered.

"If they refuse to part with technology, even after we offer payment, then we take it from them. If they fight back, that is their mistake." Maxson explained.

"You don't try explaining why having the technology is dangerous? Or offer them alternatives to it?" Nate pressed. Maxson started to get frustrated.

"No, that would take too much time, and what alternative would we offer them?" The elder questioned.

Nate sighed, and placed his forehead in his palm.

"Say they have a Assualtron, what do you do?" He asked. Maxson looked confused.

"We offer to trade for it." He said.

"And if they refuse?"

"Then we take it."

"There's the issue." Nate exclaimed. "You see two options, payment, or force. That Assualtron is probably the only thing that has kept them safe from raiders. Instead of offering to buy it, offer to protect them in return for the bot. They'd rather have one or two men in power armour than a robot."

"We don't have the resources to enforce that rule." Maxson pointed out.

"Then what are you doing taking protection away from people?" Nate asked slowly.

Maxson opened his mouth, and then closed it. Danse was surprised. Nate had stumped Arthur Maxson, something he hadn't seen since he was a boy. Nate was grinning like a fool.

"Onto negotiations, then. I don't want you confiscating technology from anyone without informing us. It'll make it easier if we're seen cooperating. If we find the tech to be dangerous enough to removed, we'll assist." Nate said. Maxson thought on it for a moment.

"That's acceptable. I understand several of your units use laser weaponry?" Arthur asked. Nate nodded slowly. "I want them to undergo training overseen by trainers of my choice. If they can pass the standards my men are held by, they can keep them. If not, we take the weapons from them."

Nate was silent for a moment. "That's fair enough. I want these trainers to cooperate with Captain Brandis, however. It needs to be fair."

Maxson twitched at the mention of Brandis, but otherwise did nothing.

"Very well. Let's discuss synths." Maxson stated calmly. This time, Nate tensed up.

"I won't allow you to eradicate a sentient race. It doesn't matter that they aren't living. They have free will, and even if it is sometimes suppressed, it is there." Nate was adamant, and Danse could see it. This was the moment that could cause problems. Nates next words made Danse panic. "I have synths serving in the Minutemen, and some even have leadership positions. If you insist on destroying them, the Minutemen will, in any way, not support your actions. You'll be fought at every step."

Elder Maxson was silent for a moment, and Danse was genuinely curious to how he would respond.

"Suppose I agree to this stipulation. What happens when Institute synths infiltrate and attack either of our camps?" He asked.

"It's already happened before. Self-defence is a valid reason. But hunting them for sport? That's immoral. It's something my government would have done before the war." Nate answered. His phrasing drew Danse's attention.

A few days before the initial meeting, Danse had been at the police station in Cambridge, on his way to the landing pad on the roof. Knight Rhys had been having a conversation with some of his comrades. He had used the phrase 'hunting synths is a sport.' Had Nate been there? Would he have even seen him? Now he had to know.

"Did you infiltrate the police station?" He blurted out.

"Danse!" Maxson exclaimed, but Nate laughed.

"I was wondering if you'd recognize the wording. Rhys is about as subtle as the Prydwen." Nate commented. Maxson stared at him. "What? Did you think I didn't know about your scribe in Sanctuary? She carried herself too well to be a refugee."

Maxson looked towards Quinlan, who shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry, she doesn't know we're watching her. Her alias is intact, for now. I wanted to find out why she showed up, so I went to investigate. I was about to leave when Knight Rhys made a peculiar comment about Synths being like animals, and how hunting them is a sport." Nate gave an unimpressed look at Maxson then, "So I stuck around for a few more moments."

Nate paused for a moment, and like an after-thought, added, "You might want to increase security on the roof of the station. It was too easy to get in."

"If we remove our spy, will you cease to infiltrate our bases?" Maxson questioned slowly. Nate nodded, so the elder turned to Quinlan. "Pull her out."

"Don't forget the team you have watching the Castle. The Gwinnet brewery is constantly watched to make sure mutants don't move back in. I'd hate to accidently call an artillery strike of Paladin Miles and Knight Winston." Nate mentioned casually.

Maxson clenched his teeth. "Pull them too."

"Thank you, elder. Now, back to the matter at hand. Synths are to be left alone, unless, and only unless, they attack you first. If I even hear a whisper of a synth being murdered, and that is the correct word, then I will bring all kinds of hell down on you, and that's without involving the Minutemen. All sentient life is to be protected, unless attacked first." Nate demanded.

Arthur was silent for several minutes, and Danse could tell that he was internally debating heavily. Quinlan was dutifully waiting for a response, after spending the past half hour furiously typing on the type-writer. The two guards were silent as usual. They accompanied Maxson everywhere, and Danse was certain he had never heard them speak.

"Very well. All sentient life will be respected, and no synths will be attacked, unless in self-defence. Do you have anything else to add?" Maxson finally spoke.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Nate replied.

The two spent the next two hours talking, and working out an agreement.

It was decided that a non-aggression and mutual cooperation pact would be signed. There were rules put in place that protected sentient life, established training camps for laser weaponry, and allowed trade to continue with the Brotherhood. Danse was impressed with both leaders. Maxson had allowed sense to rule, and instead of trying to bend everyone to his will, compromised. Nate, on the other hand, listened to Arthur, heard his opinions and beliefs, didn't belittle them, but did question them. They cooperated, and Danse was certain that it would be the beginning of an interesting relationship.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Wow, okay I spent like three days writing and re-writing this chapter. Artyom-Dreizehn guessed where Nate was! He was on the Yangtze with MacCready, visiting Captain Zao, his ghoulified Chinese friend. Now, I know at the end of the** _ **Here there be Monsters**_ **quest that Zao says he is going to return to China, but Nate is absurdly charismatic, and has convinced him to stay in the Commonwealth. I went into the major points of the treaty that is established, but there are many minor details that will be covered over the rest of the story. Leave a review, and let me know what you think. And I also overwrote Chapter Twenty with this one, lol.**

 **I just fixed a mistake where I said the Minutemen would support the destruction of synths.**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushka**


	24. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Piper, for the last time, I'm not allowed to comment on what discussions were held on the Prydwen, other than what has been released by General Garvey." Nate sighed from behind his desk.

The reporter had taken on several proteges, and was trying to teach them how to get answers from authority figures. Unfortunately for her, the unstoppable Piper Wright had decided to take on the Immovable Nate Thiel. This was going to be a battle of wills.

"I understand that, Blue, but I think the people have a right to know what sort of man the leader of the Brotherhood of Steel is. I also think that to be as fair as possible, you are the person to do that." Piper responded sweetly.

That was clever of her, Nate thought. She was trying to appeal to his ego. Nate didn't have time for any of this though, so instead called for one of the guards. The man entered the room and snapped off a clean salute.

"Corporal Paulson, would you please escort Ms. Wright and her students out of the Castle, and organize a patrol to return them to Diamond City?" Nate asked, more than ordered, the man.

"Yes sir, Colonel Thiel. Sergeant Anderson's squad has been complaining about the lack of action. I'll assign them immediately." The man led Piper and her reporters-in-training out, though she managed to shoot him a glare. Nate winked at her, and she began blushing, so she looked away.

"That was just mean and you know it." A voice drifted over.

MacCready revealed himself from where he had been hiding, in the false wall where the entrance to the tunnel systems were. The captain moved himself over to his usual spot, on the couch that Nate had bought in for when he was too tired to walk the three metres to his bed.

"Maybe, but it was funny, that's for certain." Nate responded glibly. MacCready let out a chuckle.

"Oh, it most definitely was funny. She won't stop though, and you know it. She's tenacious. It's why you like her so much." He told Nate.

This time, Nate was the one who blushed, and he quickly hid himself behind a folder.

"Good lord, you really do like her, don't you?" Mac realized. "Why don't you tell her?"

Nate put the folder down and took a deep breath in.

"I need to find my son, and as much as I hate to say it, let alone think it, Piper is a distraction from that." Nate told his friend sadly.

"Yeah, bud, not to start a fight or anything, but it's been two months since you found out that he's at the Institute. I've yet to hear of the Institute secretly imploding, which means that you actually haven't done anything." MacCready said softly.

Nate stiffened. He could see MacCready flinch, and prepare himself for an outburst, but that wasn't what he was going to get.

"RJ, you're in charge of the First while I'm gone. Go find Ronnie for me." Nate ordered suddenly and strongly.

MacCready rose rapidly, and left. Five minutes later, he returned with Ronnie Shaw, the Major at the Castle.

"Colonel, you asked for me?" She asked with a salute.

"Ronnie, I'm heading to Sanctuary, and I don't know how long I'll be gone. You're in charge of the Castle, and any operations that don't involve the First Company. Any questions that don't pertain to why I'm leaving?" Nate informed the major. She shook her head. "Good luck then, Major Shaw."

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Five days later, Nate approached the gates of Sanctuary. The guards let him in quietly, and he was escorted to Preston's office. The General of the Minutemen was standing over a map of the Commonwealth with several captains, discussing troop placement. Markers were placed over locations that had Minutemen garrisons, or needed them. The map was broken into sectors that Nate himself had designated. Preston looked up when the door opened.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, I need to talk to Colonel Thiel in private." He said politely. The captains filed out, and the door was closed, leaving the two alone. "This is a surprise. I wasn't informed you were coming."

"I move fast, and I figured this was a conversation to be had in person." Nate informed his friend. Preston waved him on. "I need indefinite leave."

"Jesus, Nate, right now? While we're preparing to announce the training of almost two thousand new recruits?" Preston exclaimed.

"Preston, my son is being held by the Institute. I don't know what they're doing to him, other than the fact he is now ten years old. I _need_ indefinite leave." Nate stressed to Preston, who sighed.

"And if I refuse?" He asked.

"I'll resign my commission, and continue anyway." Nate responded.

Preston sat down in a chair and ran his hand across his head. "Will you tell me what you plan to do, at least?"

Nate nodded, "Kellogg told me about an escaped institute scientist hiding out somewhere in the Glowing Sea. I plan to track him down, and find out how to get in. I'll move from there."

Preston looked at Nate like he was crazy, which was fair, because at this point, his plan pretty much was.

"Do you have plans in place for your duties, at least?" Preston finally asked.

"Mac's got command of the First, and Ronnie's handling everything else. I trust both of them to do their jobs." Nate replied. "Can I go now? I've got a fair amount of work to do."

Preston sat silently for a moment.

"I'm refusing your leave." He raised his hand to stop Nate from speaking. "However, for the foreseeable future, I'm giving you the assignment of locating your son. It will be considered an active personnel mission. I want a comprehensive report when you complete your objective. Do NOT misrepresent the Minutemen in this, Nate."

Nate stared at Preston for a moment, before smiling. "Yes, sir, General Garvey."

He rose, and saluted Preston, before pivoting on his heel and marching out the door. The cadre of captains looked at him, but didn't say anything. He passed them all, eyes straight ahead, and walked to his house. Codsworth was there, but he must have noticed the look in Nate's eyes, because he silently started preparing dinner while Nate began gathering supplies.

Because he was going into the Glowing Sea, which was notorious for its radiation, Nate gathered a Hazmat suit to wear over his uniform. It was reinforced with ballistic fibre, to prevent guns from damaging it, though Nate doubted that would be an issue in the Sea. The bigger issue would be the mutated creatures that infested it, such as Deathclaws, Radscorpions, ghouls, and more. Because of this, Nate ditched his smaller weapons for more powerful ones. Instead of his usual M4, which used a 5.56 round, he used the HK417, which used the more powerful 7.62mm round. Instead of his P220, he used a MP7, which, though it used a smaller calibre, had a higher firing rate. It was just as easy to carry, even if it did add a few extra pounds.

Codsworth had prepared Brahmin steak and a glass of water. Nate ate in silence, with the butler floating around, ready for instructions. He didn't receive any. Before Nate left, he shut down the eyebot, and left instructions that if he didn't return from this outing, Codsworth be memory wiped, and assigned as an aide to Preston. It made Nate feel uneasy, having to essentially prepare a will, but it was necessary.

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It took Nate three days to hike to the edge of the Glowing Sea from Sanctuary. For most of the march, he kept the hazmat suit in his pack, but once the radiation started picking up, he put it on. There were several points that Nate had marked out for camping sights, all of them safe from the radiation storms of the Sea. It would take him directly south, and then west, stopping at three different locations. Nate was fine with the path, because he wanted to explore what was definitely the most dangerous location in the Commonwealth. He was excited for the challenge of surviving it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nate most certainly did not like the challenge that was surviving the Glowing Sea. He had fought off two Deathclaws, three small hordes of Molerats, and several Bloodbugs by the time he reached his first checkpoint. The cave was near a Red Rocket, which Nate would most definitely _not_ camp in. The cave held several ghouls, so Nate prepared himself to take them out.

He locked a bayonet onto his rifle, and stormed into the cave mouth. One of the ghouls looked up from feeding on the body of an especially ballsy scavenger, who had suffered a cruel fate. It didn't even have time to react before a bullet blew its head into pink mist, spraying brain matter against the cave wall. The other ghoul had its throat torn out by the bayonet, before having the same blade jammed right through its forehead. The third ghouls lunged at Nate, but he side-stepped, spun around, and fired five shots into it. It stuttered a few steps, before collapsing at Nate's feet. He sighed. A new mess to clean up. He piled the bodies of the ghouls near the cave entrance and dropped a thermite grenade onto the bodies, reducing them to ashes in several minutes.

Nate placed some mines just outside the cave entrance, pulled a sheet of metal over the mouth to the cave, and unpacked his sleeping bag. His Pip-Boy's Geiger counter revealed that the cave had almost no radiation in it. He stripped out of the Hazmat suit, and took a breath of the stale, but unfiltered air. It was almost refreshing. Nate set an alarm for five hours, and then promptly passed out onto his sleeping bag.

Thankfully, Nate slept for the full five hours. While he was groggy when he first awoke, he took a sip of the bourbon he had brought with him. That woke him up fairly quickly, and he repacked his gear, before putting the hazmat suit back on. He removed the sheet metal from the cave mouth, and disarmed his mines, before peeking his head above ground. There was no movement, so he hurried further south, towards his next checkpoint.

He was about halfway to the second cave when the largest scorpion he had ever seen burst from the ground in front of him. He fell backwards, and then scrambled back even more, all while aiming his gun and firing at the monstrosity. It took a full clip from his HK417 to kill the beast.

"What the-?" He said to himself, having never encountered these scorpions in the regular parts of the Commonwealth.

He pulled himself up, and shrugged it off. There were bound to be a few more creatures here than in non-irradiated parts of the world. Still, scorpions the size of small bears weren't what he was expecting, and he had seen dozens of new creatures in his time in the Commonwealth. After checking his map, Nate decided to skip past his second checkpoint, and make his way straight to the third, an old missile silo and stockpile. It would be the easiest to rest in, and he would be able to continue his journey the next day.

While he didn't encounter any new species heading to the Sentinel Site, he did encounter some ones he already knew, including Church of Atom cultists, who he promptly dealt with. He began his approach to the Sentinel Site, and when he arrived, found himself surrounded by several men in power armour, all yelling different things at him. He observed each one silently until he saw the name painted on one of their chest-plates.

"Paladin Danse! We seem to be running into each other everywhere now, eh? It's a good thing you didn't shoot on sight. That would have been difficult to explain to Arthur, wouldn't it?" Nate cheerfully greeted the Paladin, who let out an audible sigh at encountering the Minuteman colonel.

"Colonel Thiel, what brings you out here?" Danse asked, guarded. Not that Nate blamed him.

"Well I certainly don't hope to do anything untoward with the nuclear stockpile here. I just needed a safe place to rest." Nate paused a moment, and all the cheer left his voice. "Which I very much hope is the same reason you are here. I'd hate to have to investigate why the Brotherhood needs a cache of nuclear bombs."

None of the men spoke, and Nate knew that this _would_ end up warranting investigation. He walked passed the group and entered the site. He was about to have a long conversation with Paladin Danse.

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 **AN**

 **HELLO boys and girls and others. I spent several days writing and re-writing this chapter, because I didn't know how I wanted it to go. If Nate has seemed a bit chipper the last few chapters, it's because he's so fed up with people (politicians and leaders) that he has turned into a sarcastic asshole, which I very much enjoy writing. As always, leave a review, or PM me if you want. I'm still taking submissions, so if you want to submit a character, PM me, and I'll let you know if they'll end up in the story. Choose whichever faction you wish, or even just regular civilians, and I'll decide whether we'll see them.**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushka**


	25. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

 _Sentinel Site, Glowing Sea, 2289_

"So," Nate drawled, once the group was inside the walls of the stockpile, "I'm willing to bet you weren't expecting to see me so soon, weren't you?"

Danse raised an eyebrow at him. "That would be a fair assumption, Nate. To be fair, I hadn't expected to see you in the middle of the Glowing Sea. Nor were my comrades. You can understand why they were jumpy."

The others looked peeved to be dealing with Nate, but had clearly recognized that this wasn't a man they could take on without consequences. Nate shrugged, and walked on, with Danse trailing behind him.

"Sure, it's a hostile environment, but that doesn't mean everything is hostile. Unless it's asymmetric warfare, in which case, everything probably is hostile." Nate said, adding the last sentence as an afterthought.

"Asymmetric warfare?" Danse asked him, and the others listened in.

Nate was surprised they didn't know the term. "Yeah, asymmetric warfare. Where the enemy doesn't abide to the same rules that you do?"

"That just sounds like regular warfare. Was that a regular thing before the bombs?" Danse inquired.

"Sometimes. It became common in Canada, but I spent most of my time in Alaska, or pretty much every else. I'd heard tales of the Reds using children as suicide bombers, but never took much stock into it. War tends to demonize the enemy. I'd heard of Canadian freedom fighters refusing medical aide because they thought it would kill them." Grant paused, recalling an event from the war. "Chinese soldiers use to kill themselves rather then get captured, especially by my Delta guys. It was brutal war. Almost as brutal as the fighting is today. I can't thank the war for much, but I can thank it for keeping me alive in the wastes."

Danse was silent for a moment, as he took in the information. "Was it really that bad?"

"Like I said, sometimes. Other times I was on top of a mountain, watching troop movements, or targeting officers for artillery strikes." Nate replied.

The conversation stopped when a group of ghouls began to crawl out from the walls. The Brotherhood soldiers began calling out targets, but Nate just dropped to a knee, and began taking accurate shots, which blew the ghouls heads off. Danse managed to fire off a round, but Nate had been too quick for all of them. Even in his bulky MOPP suit, he had managed to target and fire on the ghouls before the Brotherhood had reacted.

"That was some fine shooting, Colonel Thiel. Somehow, despite myself, I keep getting more and more impressed with your fighting skills. If you'd allow it, I'd like to learn some of your techniques, at some point." Danse told Nate, who just grinned at him.

"Sounds like a plan, Paladin, but for now, I need to sleep. I've got a long hike later, so I need to rest up. Try not to use those nukes for nefarious purposes, yeah? And at some point, I want to know the name of the robot you're building." Nate said, with a twinkle in his eye. Danse gaped, and Nate laughed.

He left the Brotherhood soldiers to their own devices, and found a nice corner to settle down in. Despite the constant laser fire the Brotherhood were emitting, Nate drifted off to sleep, thinking of simpler times. It didn't last long. He woke up an hour later to find himself surrounded by the other Brotherhood soldiers, and no Danse. He figured out their intention fairly quickly. They didn't know he was awake, and were silently debating between themselves.

"I heard Elder Maxson secretly wants him dead, but he can't because Liberty Prime isn't finished." One said, but another scoffed.

"I doubt it. The elder invited him _onto_ the Prydwen, and he wouldn't do that if he planned to kill him. This is an awful idea, and I'm sure Paladin Danse would kill you if you went through with it." He told the trio of others. Then looked to where Nate used to be. "What the- Where is he?"

While they had been talking, Nate had rolled into a recess in the wall, which was why he had picked that specific corner to camp in. It turned out to be a tunnel, and he decided to follow it. It led him to an alcove above where he had previously been, and he watched as the Brotherhood soldiers panicked amongst themselves. He whistled loudly, and they all pointed their weapons up, to where he was. It was too late for them, however, as Paladin Danse stormed over, and smacked the weapons out of their hands. He started yelling at them furiously, and they bowed their heads in submission. Nate wasn't even listening to what was being said. He had made his way back to his gear, and was packing it up. He slipped into his MOPP suit, and started towards the exit. Danse called out to him, but Nate ignored him. He didn't have the time, nor the energy, to deal with Danse and the Brotherhood.

He left the Sentinel Site, and began heading west, towards a crater he knew housed a faction of the Children of Atom. Nate was banking on the fact that they might know where the scientist, Virgil, was hiding out. It took him several hours to reach the crater, and he was bone-tired when he finally did. Still, he pushed onwards, and made his way down a marked path, towards the centre of the crater, where a woman stood, waiting.

"Welcome, my child, to the Crater of Atom, a shrine to His holy light." She intoned.

Nate stared at her for a moment. "Right. I'm looking for Doctor Virgil. He's hiding out somewhere nearby. Would you happen to know where the man is?" 

"Yes, Brian Virgil. He traded with us for a few weeks, but then stopped coming. We suspect that he has passed." She informed him.

"Uh huh. Care to tell me where he might be?" Nate asked again.

"He lived in a cave just south of here. Beware of the Deathclaws." And with that, the weird lady turned and left.

Nate sighed, and turned south himself, and started hiking south once more, his eyes peeled for Deathclaws. He had no urge to deal with them at the moment. He found a rocky outcrop, and walked in. After what felt like a minute in the dark, he entered a lit portion of the cave. There were two turrets on platforms on each side of another tunnel mouth. Nate raised his rifle, but the turrets kept idling. He lowered in, and walked through the doorway, making sure to hit the dangling cans. He didn't want to sneak up on the doctor.

A large, almost super-mutant greeted him. It was wearing a tattered lab coat. Nate assumed this was Doctor Virgil. He greeted him as such.

"Who are you? Where's Kellogg? I know the Institute sent you after me!" It roared at him. Nate refrained from shooting the beast in the face.

"Kellogg's dead. I killed the bastard myself. Shot him in the heart." Nate slowly told the former Institute scientist, who looked at him oddly. Well, as oddly as a Super-Mutant could.

"Kellogg's… dead?" He finally got out. Nate nodded.

"How do you think I found you? We had a nice, long talk about his life decisions."

"And why were you searching for me?" Virgil finally asked, after a few moments pondering Nate's previous statement.

"I need to get into the Institute." Nate told the scientist, monster…. thing.

Virgil barked out a rather painful-sounding laugh. "That's funny. Why would you want to do that?"

"Well, it's a long story that involves Kellogg kidnapping my son and murdering my wife. I think you can understand why I want to get into the place." Nate snapped at him, finally having lost his patience.

"Oh, oh. I'm sorry. That's wrong of us, I will tell you that. All right." Virgil sighed. "It's a complicated method to get in and out of the Institute. Do you know anything about how it works?"

"Yeah, Kellogg said they use some form of teleporter. Why?" Nate asked.

Virgil proceeded to explain how the teleporter, or molecular relay, worked. He then informed Nate that he had to kill a courser to gain access.

"Cool. I need a good challenge." Nate had said. Virgil stared at him.

"Coursers undergo some of the most rigorous training ever. They are literal killing machines."

"So am I, and I assure you, I've killed much more people than a courser could ever hope to." Nate replied to the comment.

Virgil then informed Nate how to track the courser signal, and where to start. Nate thanked him, and Virgil asked him to find a cure for him, once he was in the institute. He agreed to the terms, and left the cave. It would be a long walk home, but it was worth it. He had gotten the information he needed. He was one step closer to finding Shaun.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **WELL HELLO EVERYONE. I am back! I've had a crazy week and a half, and didn't really have time to write. If you haven't seen my update, I'm putting my other stories on hold while I finish this one. While I am getting closer to the end, I've still got a fair bit to go. As always, leave a review, and let me know what you think. I'm still taking character submissions, but if they don't appear in this story, they will most certainly appear in the sequels.**

 **8/13- Couple Grammar fixes.**

 **Cheers,**

 **SovietBabushka**


	26. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

It took Nate four days to get back to Sanctuary from Virgil's cave, and he somehow managed to run into every single Deathclaw on his way out of the Glowing Sea. He had killed seven by the time he made it outside of the radiation zone. He had taken a claw from each one, though he didn't know what he'd do with them. He was let through the rear gates, and went to his house first. He stripped out of his MOPP suit and showered, before switching into his officer fatigues, and shrugging a trench-coat over it. He slipped a cap on, and walked out, to go find Preston, and let him know what happened.

To say the general was surprised would be an understatement. He had been shocked to learn who Nate was tracking down, and how well it went. The shock had turned to fury when he had revealed the attempt by the Brotherhood soldiers to kill him, and Nate had seen him scribble something down onto a notepad. He thought about trying to stop whatever was about to happen, but decided against it. Preston's fury transferred to annoyance when Nate revealed he planned to hunt down and kill a courser.

"A courser? Why not, Nate. Let's just hunt down one of the most dangerous being in the Commonwealth!" Preston realised his mistake too late. "Damn it. Yes, I know you are one of the most dangerous beings in the Commonwealth as well, Nate." 

Preston sighed, and dismissed Nate. He rose, saluted his friend, and turned towards the door.

"Nate, wait a moment. I've got a file here I want you to read." Preston suddenly called out. Nate walked back to the chair, and sat down.

The file was placed in front of him, and he took a glance at it. The name _'Jeremiah "The Reaper" Koumal'_ was stamped on the front in red ink. It was a thick file, several pages long. Nate looked up at Preston, who shrugged at him.

"This guy showed up at a recruitment centre two weeks ago, and blew through basic like it was nothing. Ronnie was the one who brought him to my attention. I had MacCready put him through the gauntlet." He stated.

"And?" Nate asked.

"He was six seconds slower than you."

Nate whistled loudly. The gauntlet was designed to be impossible for most. Nate had spent a week designing each of the six sections that had to be completed. Whoever this man was, he had to be incredibly skilled to have a time like that.

"You mind if I take this with me?" Nate asked Preston, who nodded. "Thanks."

Nate made his way to a small cubicle he had claimed as his Sanctuary office, one that was rarely used. He sat down in the plastic chair, placed the file on the desk, and began reading about this 'Jeremiah Koumal'. The file was comprehensive, and he suspected most of it was supplied by the man himself.

 _Jeremiah Koumal, age 24, hails from the northern territories, a location he calls North Country, and an unnamed vault. No one knows much about it outside of what Mr. Koumal has told us. The vault was staffed by veterans from a unit of the pre-war military known as 'Force Recon.'_

Nate read that last sentence twice. He had served with Force Recon members in the Pacific, and had been impressed with them. Koumal's skill sets made sense now.

 _The descendants of these men and women continued the traditions of their original unit, teaching the security teams of the vault their skill set. Jeremiah_

 _Koumal joined the vaults elite security 'Strike Force' once he turned 18. He spent two years with them, until a raider assault overran his vault. Jeremiah was one of the few survivors, due to being out on patrol that day. He spent the next three years in a village that housed the survivors, where he fell and love and married a widowed mother. It wasn't to last, as just over a year ago, Jeremiah's wife and her daughter were captured by slavers. He tried to track them down, but they were long gone, sent westwards, where slaves were treated notoriously awfully. He spent the next year out on his own, before hearing about the Minutemen, and deciding to join up._

 _Major Shaw's Notes- The kid shows massive potential. He's dominated in almost every drill we do, and only Cait stands a chance against him in the ring, but I've only ever seen her lose once, to Colonel Thiel. His range scores are below MacCready, Thiel, but he is better than Tanner, which truly says something. Although it isn't my place, as all recruitment for the First is handled by the members of the company, I'd highly recommend the kid for The Untouchables._

The rest of the file was his scores on tests, drills, and weapon handling. There weren't many weapons he couldn't use, and Nate was finding himself more intrigued as he read on. Currently, Koumal was stationed at the Castle, awaiting deployment. Whatever doubts Nate had before he read the file, they were gone now. This was a recruit he wanted, desperately. He rose from his seat, and went to the radio room, grabbing one of the headsets.

"Castle Actual, this is Reaper One, how copy?" Nate spoke into the radio. He got a response soon enough.

"Reaper One, this is Castle Actual, I've got you loud and clear." That was Joey, the radioman for the Minutemen at the Castle.

"You have a recruit named Koumal stationed at the fort awaiting deployment. Keep him there, I'm coming over to meet him."

"Roger that. The dude's a beast, Reaper One. Good luck with him, over."

The signal went to static, and Nate returned the file to Preston, before turning and walking out of the headquarters. There was a brahmin wagon heading to the fort, so Nate hitched a ride with them. It took close to half a day to reach the Castle, and the sun was setting when he arrived. MacCready was waiting for him by the gates.

"You here for Koumal?" He asked in greeting.

"Yeah," Nate nodded, "I want to know what you think of the man first, however."

MacCready snorted. "A lot like you when we first met. Dedicated to the job, no sense of humour, and a wicked ability to kill. I think the two of you will get along fantastic. He's at the range now, with Tanner. Your boy has taken offence to the fact that a recruit can match him. They've been going at it all day."

Nate followed the captain to the firing range, where he watched as Michael Tanner and a black-haired, bearded man he assumed was Jeremiah Koumal fire down range. Every shot that Tanner made, Koumal did as well, and the frustration was becoming evident on the marksman's face. Nate decided to intervene before Mikey did something stupid. He nudged MacCready, who got the idea.

"Officer on deck! Stand to attention!" He barked out.

Koumal was on his feet in an instant, back ramrod, and a salute snapped out to his temple. Nate was very impressed but he didn't show it. He marched down the line of soldiers, most of them from the First Company, and made eye contact with each one. He made sure to make a show out of stopping in front of Koumal.

"You're not one of mine." He stated simply.

"No, sir, I am not!" Koumal answered loudly. Nate chuckled. It was a marine reaction through and through.

"Well that's not right. Anyone who can match Tanner on the range clearly doesn't belong as a grunt. I'm going to take you under my wing, watch you personally. We're going to have lots of fun, you and I. Do you think you can keep up, Jeremiah?" Nate asked him.

"Sir, I hope I can, sir!" Koumal responded, but Nate saw the flash of surprise in his eyes that Nate knew his first name.

"Good. We have our first assignment together. We're hunting an institute courser. I hope you can shoot as well at close distances that you can at long distances." Nate told him, and heard the sharp intake of breath from the others. To his credit, Koumal didn't react on the outside. "Head to the quartermaster, and get whatever you need. If we confiscated weapons you had, recover them, and then meet me at the north gate. You have twenty mikes."

Nate turned on his heel and strolled off. He heard MacCready tell the soldiers to return at ease, and then sprint to catch up with him.

"A courser, Nate? That's crazy, man. Are you sure you don't want more back up?" His friend asked.

"No." Nate shook his head. "Honestly, I don't think I'll need it. I looked in that kids eyes. I saw the same look in my own, back in Alaska. He's a stone-cold killer, and I bet he could probably match me on one of my bad days. That says a lot about him, Mac. Now, I need you to prep the first for a full company tour. We're heading north soon. Don't ask, because I won't tell, not just yet."

With that, Nate left MacCready to send the orders out. He himself made his way to his office, where he then walked down the stairs into the tunnels, which now housed a proper armoury for him. It would be a good day, hunting coursers with a man trained in the manner of Marine Force Recon. He relished the challenge.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Hello! Jeremiah Koumal is the first character that was submitted to me, and I want to extend my thanks to HOG2017 for submitting him. He'll be fairly important in the chapters to come, and maybe further than that. We'll see. I'm still accepting character submissions, but I want to put some guidelines out first. Don't send me like two lines about what your character can do. I'd like a comprehensive look at them, from what they look like, to religion if any, to where they acquired their skills. I love you all, and never change.**

 **I am a moron. I named him Jeremy, instead of Jeremiah. I have corrected that. Please do not kill me.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	27. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jeremiah Koumal wasn't one for conversation, Nate discovered. It didn't bother him that much, because at the moment, neither was he. Still, it was interesting to travel with a man who had military discipline close to his own, even if it was tainted by two hundred and ten years of evolution. Koumal had been waiting for Nate when he arrived at the gate, ten minutes before his deadline had run out, a fact which had impressed him. He wore the standard fatigues of the Minutemen, with a netted helmet, but his weapons were anything but. A Remington 700 was slung over his back, and he held a Sig Sauer MCX SBR in his hands. It was a weapon that Nate could admire, especially for a sniper. A suppressor was screwed onto the barrel, and Nate could see two more placed in a pouch on his webbing.

It took them several hours to reach the C.I.T ruins, and in that time, Nate had gotten a fairly decent read on Jeremiah Koumal. The man was skilled, more so than most Minutemen could hope to be, and his reflexes were easily as sharp as Nate's. He reacted, but he didn't overreact. Unknown sounds would draw his attention, but not once was a stray shot fired. He moved silently, for the most part, but did so with the grace of a panther.

It was midnight when they arrived, and Nate instantly checked his Pip-Boy for the signal he needed to follow. He picked it up within a few moments, and began following the faint signal. He also decided to break the silence.

"Koumal." He said, drawing the man's attention.

"Sir?"

"How did your vault get overrun, if you don't mind me asking? You're impeccably trained, and I struggle to see how a raider assault could overwhelm a security force with your skills." Nate asked. Koumal stiffened for a moment, but then he relaxed.

"I wasn't a part of the regular security forces. I was a member of Strike Force, which is comparable to the First Company. There were only thirty of us, and we spent most of our time out in the field." Koumal explained. "We weren't a closed off Vault. We traded with many of the settlements around us, and that was how the raiders got us. I think raiders isn't an accurate term, because it gives off the image of chem-addled barbarians. These raiders were closer to the Gunner's than anything else. The snuck in with several different caravans, and once they were in, attacked."

"They took the entrance first, which allowed their reinforcements to push through, and from there, it was a systematic slaughter. I had been out on patrol, and when I arrived back, it was all over. They had taken anything that wasn't nailed down, and left, leaving the bodies of the vault dwellers in their wake. My father, mother, and sister were killed. I showed up just in time to watch my best friend take a round through the skull. I never found the sniper who killed him."

Nate sighed. It was a story he could relate to, most definitely. The man had his sympathy.

"Do you know why we're doing this, Koumal?" Nate asked him. The man shook his head. "My son was kidnapped by the Institute, and I'm trying to get in. The only way to do that is through a courser chip, which is why we're hunting one of the most dangerous things in the Commonwealth. The man the institute hired to kidnap my son also killed my wife. Shot a forty-four right through her head, because she wouldn't give up my boy."

"I'm sorry, colonel." Koumal stated.

"But I killed the bastard, which is more than you got. I've read your file, Jeremiah, and it's surprisingly honest. I understand the pain you're in, more than you might understand. I can't help you get closure, but you can help me. It isn't fair, I know, but maybe, this will give you an idea of the sacrifice my life has been since my son was kidnapped." Nate spieled on, noting that the signal was getting stronger and stronger.

The duo ended up in front of Greentech Genetics, and Nate knew this was the location. Jeremiah put his ear to the door.

"I can hear muffled gunfire. There's a lot of it, so I'm guessing your courser is here." He informed Nate, who nodded.

"Good. Like I said before, I hope you're as good with your SBR as you are with your rifle." Nate said, as he readied his M4. "Let's kill a courser."

Nate slipped through the door, and split left, while Jeremiah went right. It was a unified clearing, and they met up on the other side of the room.

"Two dead gunners, laser wounds. Our courser is definitely here." Nate said, and Koumal dipped his head in acknowledgement.

They made their way up a set of stairs, and emerged onto a walkway. Across from them, a series of shutters opened, and a pair of gunners emerged from the doorway, firing blindly at them. All their shots missed, and both Jeremiah and Nate had fired in rapid succession, killing both gunners. They swept through the first floor, killing several more gunners, before arriving into another section of the building, which had walkways going up about five more floors. There were explosions, screaming, and gunfire coming from three floors up. Nate and Jeremiah exchanged glances, and set off in a hurried pace to get to the courser.

There were about twenty gunners in between Nate, Jeremiah, and the Courser. It took them a good fifteen minutes to clear the lower levels of the building. After a narrow escape from a bouquet of grenades, Nate stumbled into an elevator, followed shortly by Jeremiah, who fired a spray behind him as the elevator door closed. Nate heard a body hit the ground. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Jeremiah spoke.

"I'd heard the stories about you, but I figured they were propaganda, or lies." He stated, and Nate arched an eyebrow at him. "I was wrong. You're even better than the stories said you were."

There was a touch of admiration in his voice, and it made Nate proud, deep inside, to still be able to inspire awe in people.

"You're no pushover yourself, Koumal. It's been a _very_ long time since I've seen someone with your skill." Nate paused as the elevator shuddered briefly. "You'll do well in the Minutemen. You could make officer in a few months, if you tried hard enough."

The elevator ground to a halt, and the door slid open. The duo stormed out of the elevator, and quickly cleared the room. Nate could hear the courser interrogating some gunners, and the subsequent executions of them. While Nate had no love for the gunners, and had ordered the destruction of their headquarters, hearing them being executed one by one was unpleasant. Still, he resisted the urge to run in. He had no idea how the courser would react, or if it had left traps in case anyone tried to rush in. He and Jeremiah carefully made their way to chamber where the courser was. It turned and looked at him when he arrived.

"You have been following me." It announced. "Why?"

If the courser had been expecting Nate to answer, then it was sorely mistaken. Nate fired three rounds into it's chest, which staggared it, and before it could react, pulled his knife from it's sheath and rammed it under the courser's chin, straight through it's head. Even if it was a merciless killing machine, it died like a human, shudddering, and then falling limp into his grasp. He laid the body down, and began the gruesome task of finding the courser chip. Virgil had given him the vague location of 'it's torso' and he began feeling around for any odd shapes or lumps in its chest. There were none, so he had to devolve to gutting the courser.

While Nate did this, Jeremiah secured the surviving gunners with zip ties, and freed the woman who they had captured, who Nate overheard reveal that she was a synth. He finnaly found the courser chip, and yanked it from the cavity it was embedded in, which served to cover him in synthetic blood. He imagined it was a gruesome sight. Koumal handed him a cloth, and Nate wiped his hands, getting most of the blood off of it. He rose, and turned to the soldier.

"Well this was enlightening." Nate began, voice light. "How do you feel about really causing a panic, and infiltrating the headquarters of a not-so-secret group"

Jeremiah grinned at him.

"Sounds like fun, boss."

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **A bit of a filler chapter, but one that had an important conversation. Before anyone tells me that several months to get promoted to an officer is too short, just remember, in the wastes, experienced soldiers are in short supply. If Jeremiah can prove himself to be not only a good soldier, but a good leader, he can easily rise through the ranks of the Minutemen. Up next, the Railroad, who are going to be dealt with in a special manner.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushla**


	28. Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Desdemona was hunched over a map of the Boston area, swallowing the news Drummer Boy had just given her. High Rise had locked Ticonderoga down, due to the influx of raiders fleeing from Minutemen controlled land. That meant all their synths would have to be shuttled through Goodneighbour, and that increased the chances of the Institute recapturing the escapees. She had no doubt that the institute knew about Stockton, but it was a matter of not knowing _when_ there were synths in his care.

"Jesus Christ dancing a polka!" Deacon suddenly yelled out. "How the hell did you get in here?"

 _That_ drew Desdemona's attention, and she looked up to see a terrifying sight. She had heard the tales of Colonel Thiel of the Minutemen, and had even sent Deacon to tail him on several occasions, but she had never, ever, expected him to turn up in their headquarters. He was covered in blood, and he wasn't alone. Several agents had their weapons trained on him, but clearly none of them had been expecting an intruder. There was a second man in Minutemen fatigues standing just behind him, his own weapon switching between some of her agents.

"Colonel Thiel." Desdemona greeted him civilly.

"Desdemona. I'm sure this is a bit of a shock to you." He responded, forcing a snort from Deacon.

Desdemona levelled a glare at the spy, and he looked away sheepishly.

"You could say that. Care to explain what you're doing here? Or rather, how you found us here?" She demanded.

"If I feel like it. Right now, with several people pointing their guns at me, I'm not really in the mood to explain." Thiel shot back, and Desdemona motioned for her people to lower their weapons. Once they had, the second Minuteman did the same. She noticed Deacon eyeing him strangely, but couldn't say anything now.

"Thank you. As for how I found you, I've known you were here for months. I'm much better at following Deacon than he is at following me." Thiel explained. Desdemona recoiled, and Deacon looked absolutely stunned.

"I- What?" The super-spy stuttered out.

"Deacon, you're good at what you do, really, you are, but I've was doing this in one of the bloodiest wars in history. None of you can even come close to what I had to learn." Thiel explained, and Desdemona wondered what he meant. Deacon seemed to know, because he didn't look perturbed.

"You still haven't answered why you're here, however." Carrington decided to chime in.

"I need you to decipher a courser chip." The colonel stated, and one of the agents actually dropped their weapon.

"You killed a courser? How?" Glory demanded. Desdemona knew the synth heavy had engaged with them several times, but never actually beaten one.

"Honestly, it was pretty disappointing how easy it was. It walked right up to me, and asked me why I followed it." Thiel said, and Glory spluttered in indignation. "I just rammed my knife under its jaw. Died pretty quick after that."

"Him." Carrington corrected, but Thiel just looked annoyed.

"No, it. It is sentient, I won't argue that, but it is a machine, and has no gender, even if it was assigned one. I'm not here to argue semantics with you. I support what you do wholeheartedly, but your philosophy is flawed." Thiel stated. Before anyone could react, he continued. "I came here because I needed someone to decipher the chip. If you can't, or won't, I'll go to the Brotherhood. I'm sure they have someone who could."

"We won't do this for free." Desdemona told Thiel, who chuckled darkly.

"You don't understand, Desdemona. You're not doing this for free. If you don't help me, I'll let the Brotherhood know where you are, and I think they'll be less merciful than I'm being." Thiel warned her.

That was a serious threat to make, especially in the Railroad headquarters. One of the agents took massive offense to the statement, and put his rifle right in Thiel's face. The man looked amused.

"Oh, that's ironic. Pointing a weapon that I allowed to be sold to you at me. Get that thing out of my face before I take it from you." The colonels voice was cold, and Desdemona was truly fearing what he might do to her agent. The man pushed his luck, however, and waved it in Thiel's face.

Desdemona didn't actually see Thiel disarm the agent, known as Orpheus. She did, however, hear his arm snap in half. Orpheus was rolling on the ground, holding onto his left arm, which was hanging limply. The second minuteman had raised his weapon again, but this time, it was trained solely on Desdemona. Thiel made no effort in trying to make him stand down. It was now she realized why so many feared the colonel of the Minuteman rather than the general. Nathaniel Thiel had no issue with making threats and carrying them out. The fate of Gunner Plaza was evidence enough. The other agents looked indecisive, whether to try and take on the colonel, or stand down. Deacon had moved to the side, clearly wanting to stay out of this fight.

"Let me reiterate, because clearly, none of you understand. You have two options. Option one, you help me, and I'll help you. Option two, you don't help me, and I stop helping you. All your agents will be refused weapons, and any shipments you have ordered will be cancelled." Nate's voice was surprisingly gentle, and Desdemona was shocked by the change in tone. She almost would have believed him, had his subordinate not been pointing his weapon at her.

"For what it's worth boss, I think we should help him." Deacon chimed in. "He'd be a good friend to have, but an even worse enemy."

Thiel nodded at the spy. "Thank you, Deacon. I appreciate that assessment."

Desdemona sighed. This situation was becoming progressively worse.

"Fine. We'll decipher the chip, but we get to keep all other information on it." She said. Thiel chuckled again.

"You get a copy of all the other information. I get the original." He countered. Desdemona opened her mouth, and then closed it.

"Fine." She agreed after a few moments. "You get all the original information, and we get a copy of it. Give it to Tom, and he'll begin the process."

Thiel handed the chip, which was caked in dry blood, to Tinker Tom, and it furthered her belief that he had knew enough of their operation. He didn't even have to ask who he needed to hand it to. Tom began the deciphering process, which would take several hours. Deacon introduced himself to the second Minuteman, who had joined several days prior. The man was surprisingly tight lipped, especially for one who was travelling with the renowned Colonel Thiel. The colonel himself had taken over their firing range, and was passing the time by shooting. He was far more accurate than any agent she had, and was clearly in a league of his own. Glory watched in silence, but Desdemona could see the awe in the synths eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Woah! That was harder than I expected." Tom said after almost two and a half of typing furiously away on his terminal.

"You got it?" Thiel asked, and Tom nodded.

"All downloaded onto a holotape. Here." The eccentric man handed the tape to the colonel, who thanked him.

"Well this was enlightening. I expect we'll be doing business again soon." Colonel Thiel said, before turning and leaving, his companion following him.

The colonel left, and Desdemona let out a sigh. Drummer Boy walked up to her.

"Dez, do you want us to scap this base?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No. We'll be fine here. But increase security. He wasn't lying about doing more business, and I don't want him surprising us again."

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Sorry about the wait. I got my third degree black belt yesterday, and the past two weeks has been pretty solid training for that. So Nate hasn't wiped out the Railroad, and it ain't gonna happen. Because I said so. Next up, Nate builds a teleporter, and arrives at the Institute.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	29. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Nate stared at the machine he and Sturges had built on the hill overlooking Sanctuary. It was put together impeccably, but still looked like scrap metal.

"And we're sure this will work?" Nate asked. Sturges raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, according to these schematics, yes. Granted, they look like they were drawn by a child, so I'm not sure if we should put all out faith into them, but yes, it should work." The mechanic replied, frowning at the blueprints Virgil had given Nate once more.

Nate sighed, and walked around the machine once more. Preston was leaning against a tree, a worried look on his face. Nate laughed at it, and Preston responded by glaring at him.

"I'll be alright, Preston. If everything becomes FUBAR, Ronnie will make a good second." Nate tried to reassure his friend, who didn't look amused.

"First, you still haven't told me what that means. Second, if you die, I'm going to bring you back to life just so I can kill you again." Preston warned him. Jeremiah Koumal perked up from where he had been standing guard.

"Wait, you don't know what FUBAR means?" He asked the general, incredulously.

"You do?" Preston replied. Koumal nodded. "Tell me."

The former vault-dweller leaned over and whispered in the general's ear, and Preston spluttered. Nate laughed loudly, and Koumal joined in.

"Christ, Nate!" Preston exclaimed. "I forgot how much of a soldier you are."

"Oh, man. I was hoping to hold that over you for a while longer." Nate managed to get out, still laughing. He turned towards Sturges. "All right my man, let's see if I can invade the Institute."

The mechanic nodded. "Take this holotape. When you arrive at the Institute, plug it into a terminal. It'll sweep through all their files, making a copy of each one. Should come in handy. Step on."

Nate did so, and Sturges began tapping into a terminal. "All right. We're searching for a signal. Nothing so far… There! Okay, we're tagging onto w signal."

One of the tubing burst off the machine, and started waving around. Sturges didn't look perturbed in the least.

"Uh, don't worry about that flailing tube. That was just there for decoration."

"Sturges, if I don't make it there, make sure to kill your-" Nate didn't finish speaking, because at that moment, a blinding white light made him stop speaking.

When he recovered, he noticed the incredible amount of whiteness. Not only had he been blinded by a white light, he was now in a room that was predominantly white. This would wreck his eyes, he was sure. He looked around the room, and found a large table with a terminal built in. He slipped the holotape that Sturges had handed him into it. Nate left it there to do its data mining, and he walked towards what looked to be an elevator.

"Hello. Welcome to the institute. I know you have come a long way. My name is Father." A serene voice came on what Nate assumed to be an intercom system.

He looked around, and spotted the speaker in the corner of the room. It blended in well, but it was visible. He could barely make out the tiny camera underneath it, but it _was_ there. Nate waved at it, and he heard a chuckle.

"Not many people know that is there. Some of my department heads are not aware either. But please, let us continue." The elevator began spiralling down towards Nate, and he arched an eyebrow. "I'm sure you've heard stories about the Institute, about what we have done. Who we are. I'd like to show you the truth. Who we _really_ are." The voice was calm, slow, and deep. He was trying to put Nate at ease. It was a tactic Nora had used when he had woken up from his nightmares, after he came home.

Regardless of how he felt, Nate entered the elevator. It took him downwards, spiralling as it went. Nate could see hundreds of people walking around, but he didn't know if they were synths or not. But what terrified him more was the thousands of earlier model synths he _could_ see. They were everywhere, but most of them were doing menial jobs. If the Institute wanted, they could reprogram the synths for combat operations, and it would be an incredibly tough fight for the Minutemen. Hundreds, if not thousands, would die.

When the elevator stopped, Nate was in what he assumed was a lower level, he was greeted with nothing. The hallway was empty, and that worried him. He hadn't really thought the situation through, and only had his P220 and his trusty knife with him. He drew the pistol from his holster and moved slowly through the hallway. IF there was an ambush, he didn't want to be surprised. Despite his worries, the hallway seemed to be clear, and each doorway Nate approached didn't yield any traps.

He entered a large room that had a glass room on the other side, with a young boy in it. Maybe ten years old. The boy looked like Nate did at that age, but he could traces of Nora in her.

"Shaun?" He breathed out. The little boy looked up.

"Yes, I'm Shaun. Who are you?"

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The ten minutes after the little boy spoke were both terrifying and confusing for Nate. The boy wasn't his son, but a synth, and the old man in charge of the Institute, twice his own age, was his actual son. His son, who had condoned the kidnapping of dozens, if not hundreds, of men, women, and children, in order to advance the scientific studies of his organization. It sickened him, to be truthful, but he kept that to himself. He wanted to see what kind of man his son had grown up to be. Without him, without Nora. She would have been devastated to see her son like this, Nate knew.

"I want you to go and introduce yourself to the division heads, so that you may understand the Institute." Shaun had asked of him, and he had complied.

For the most part, he actually found the people in the Institute to be rather kind, though it was obvious that in their sheltered upbringing, they didn't really understand how what they were doing was effecting the overworld. The only man he hadn't liked was the man in charge of the Synth Retention Bureau, Justin Ayo. The man was cocky, arrogant, and stupid, a bad combination in charge of what Nate had decided was comparable to the Gestapo. He had quickly put the man in his place when he was confronted.

"Ah yes, the father of Father. We'll be keeping a close eye on you. I'm sure you understand why." The man had sneered at him, and Nate was in his face in a flash.

"If you think you can intimidate me, you're sorely mistaken. The last man that threatened me ended up with a broken arm. Would you like me to demonstrate how I did it?" He had growled at the man, who backed himself into the wall.

"Mr. Thiel, please, Doctor Ayo is just trying to do his job!" A woman, Alana Secord, intervened.

Nate backed off from the man. "I'm not trying to stop him. Just educate. And please, call me Nate. My father was Mr. Thiel." He flashed her a smile.

"Yes, yes, you're a tough brute. Threaten me again, and I'll sic a Courser on you." Ayo warned him. Doctor Secord gasped, but Nate laughed.

"Oh, right, because that worked so well the first time. I've fought flies with more fight in them than your courser." Nate scoffed, and Ayo looked taken aback.

"You must have fought a defective model. Tell me, how did you kill it?" Ayo asked him, and Nate looked around. There was a courser standing nearby with its weapon trained on him, most likely because of the threat he made.

"Oh, it was simple, really. You see, if the courser is expecting a conversation, they don't expect action. Like this." To prove his point, Nate had pounced across the room, and before the courser, which had been standing still, could react, his blade had already been rammed under its jaw.

Secord screamed, and Ayo swore loudly. "Honestly, it's rather disappointing how easy it is." Nate said as he wiped his blade on the courser's uniform. Three more rushed into the room, followed by Shaun- Father- whatever name he went by.

"Please, was the violence really necessary?" His son asked him.

"Was it necessary? No." Nate shook his head. "But it proved my point to your secret police chief here. I'm not a man to be threatened, or trifled with. He'll remember that from now on."

"Interesting. Kellog said the same thing to me one day, after I witnessed him kill a courser as well." Shaun stated, and Nate narrowed his eyes at him.

"The only interesting thing is that you have some secret police, led by an arrogant prick. It's causing division amongst your division heads, so if I were you, I'd replace him. It would lead to less conflict, and optimize productivity." Nate told Shaun, who looked surprised by the statement.

"An astute observation. All my files indicated that my mother was the intelligent one. Traditionally, at least."

"That's not wrong. Nora was a genius. There weren't many people who could hold a conversation with her, and over time, she rubbed off on me. It was one of the reasons I was selected for OCS, after Anchorage. Obviously, that never happened." Nate reminisced. Shaun had an odd look on his face. "You know the official factors of our lives, don't you? How we did in school, when we were married, where Nora went to college, and what I did in the army, right?"

Shaun nodded, "That is true. I know much of what both of you did, but little of who you were, and are. Would you mind telling me about her?"

"You know, most of what I've done today, I did out of curiosity and courtesy, but this will be my absolute pleasure."

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Nate had met Shaun-Father-Person. IF any of the dialogue sounded familiar, I probably quoted it from the game. For the courser scene, with Ayo, I hate his character, so I wanted to write a scene where he gets terrified by Nate, a special forces soldier, who spent ten years in war. It was fun. Anyway, I just started school again, and I'm moving my sister into college for the next two days, so there's that. I'm still taking character suggestions, and I'm up to four, now. Keep 'em coming, folks. We'll see some more of the Institute, and the people in it. Till then,**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	30. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Preston was looking over a set of maps he hadn't seen before. They had been brought to him by MacCready, who had taken the tools needed to create the maps with him when he travelled searching for Kellogg. The path followed the Massachusetts Turnpike to Highway 95, all the way to New York, where MacCready had turned and came back to Boston. Preston was using these maps to plan an expedition. He didn't know when, or how it would be done, but he needed to pass the time waiting for Nate to return from the Institute.

As the General of the Minutemen, he had a full load, but lately, with the increase of competent officers, and the lack of action, he had more free time on his hands than he knew what to do with. He had already reviewed the logistics for the new divisions being raised, aptly named the Second and Third Division. He had met with Sturges to discuss an increase in weapon production, and the armorers at the Castle were working on pressing more ammunition. Fallon's Basement was in overdrive, creating thousands of fatigues, and Becky Fallon was beaming with pride at the fact the Minutemen used her business for supplying them.

It had been a week since Nate had entered the Institute, and Preston didn't know if he was dead or alive, but knowing his friend, he was most definitely alive. It was just a matter of whether or not he was allowed to return to them, or if it would actually be him when he came back, and not a synth copy. Preston sighed as he looked back at the maps. At the rate he was planning this, if no major wars occurred in the near future, they would be able to make it to Rhode Island by the end of the year. Preston doubted he would be able to implement the plan.

He rose to call for his aide when a blinding white light flooded the room, followed by slew of vulgar language.

"That, my friend, was a terrifying experience."

Preston knew that voice very well.

"Nate?" He asked.

"Yeah, numbnuts, its me. I'll tell you what, despite being inhabited by people who have literally no moral compass, the Institute is a very nice place." Nate replied, before Preston pulled him into a hug.

"Jesus, I didn't know if you were alive or not!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, I am, and not to ruin this beautiful moment, but we need to plan an assault on the facility I just left." Nate said, slipping his way out of Preston's embrace.

Preston knew what this meant, and in an instant, both men were gone, replaced by General Garvey and Colonel Thiel, respectively. Preston replaced the maps MacCready created and replaced them with maps of the Boston/Cambridge area. Nate pointed at the ruins of C.I.T.

"The Institute is there, but it's underground. We need to find a way to get inside. I'm going to put the First onto it, and hopefully we'll have an entry point within a month. Maybe less, if we get lucky." Nate told him, and Preston nodded.

"We've got six more weeks until the newest recruits are finished training, and what better way to blood them than in a war with the Institute?" Preston replied, and he saw Nate shake his head.

"I think we could do this with the First Division, and use the others to occupy positions where we'll send captured personnel."

"Captured personnel?" Preston asked.

"The scientists may not comprehend that what they are doing is wrong, but we shouldn't kill them for it. We'll settle them in select settlements, give them overseers of a sort, and put them under probation. If you approve, that is." Nate told him.

Preston thought about it for several moments. "This is a big decision. How do we train the men for this assault?"

Nate looked sheepish, and Preston was immediately on guard.

"Remember how I did some private recruiting. And didn't bring them into the Minutemen?"

"That was like, a year ago Nate, but yes, I remember." Preston reminded him.

"We have to go to the Quincy Quarries. I have something to show you." Nate informed him, and Preston let out a sigh. He didn't know what to expect.

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Whatever Preston had been expecting, it wasn't this. In a tunnel system in the Quincy Quarries was the entrance to a vault, labelled _88_. There were dozens of workers present, and most of them knew Nate by name. Thomas Williams whistled loudly.

"Is this what you spend your money on, Colonel?" He asked, and Nate nodded.

"This is my present to the Minutemen, captain. Welcome to Vault 88. I hope it can become a new hub for Minutemen activity." Nate explained, as the door grinded open. It slid back, and when the ramp dropped, Preston saw a small party waiting for them.

Jun Long, who Preston had promoted to Sergeant Major a month prior, was standing at the end of the ramp. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail, but he had shaved recently. He was cleaner than Preston could remember. For that matter, the other members of the first squad, including the newly inducted Jeremey Koumal, were all cleaner than he had seen them before.

"For the past year, the workers I hired have been building this Vault into a proper headquarters for the Minutemen. It can comfortably hold a single division that we've recruited, has an armoury, three mess halls, officers' quarters, even a training section. I put a lot of caps into this, but I think it was well worth it." Nate explained as they walked into the vault. "Working showers, a high-tech purifier, and a fusion reactor. The original purpose of this vault was to experiment on people, but I decided that would do. This place can do everything the Castle and Sanctuary can do, with the benefit of being much more defensible."

The vault was extensive, Preston noted, and had many amenities he hadn't expected. There were no loose power cables, dangling metal plates, or anything to indicate this had been built after the bombs fell. The only indication this vault was still being built were the sections being welded together by workers. All in all, Preston was very impressed by what Nate had done, on his own time, and his own money.

"Nate, how do you still have money?" Preston questioned, and he saw the brief flicker in Nate's eyes that indicated he was thinking of lying.

"I didn't, for a while, but some of the projects and businesses I've invested in started making enough of a profit that I have a decent little egg stashed away." Nate replied, and Preston wondered briefly if it was a lie or not. "Now, I didn't just bring you here so you could question my financials, this trip has a purpose."

Nate led them through many hallways until they reached a location marked with _Operations Room_. When they entered, they were greeted by a myriad of soldiers, most whom Preston recognized from the First Company. There were many, however, that he didn't recognize. Some were wearing uniforms, others were not, but they all carried themselves like soldiers, and looked as if they belonged. Preston knew why. Nate had trained them, or they had been trained by someone the man out of time had trained. What bothered him was how many there were. Nate had written the manual that dictated how the Minutemen were structured, and it was followed almost religiously. There was to be one captain, two lieutenants, and four sergeants per company. There was easily twice as many men in this room, and Preston turned to look at Nate, whose expression hadn't changed.

"You've counted them, then?" He asked, and Preston nodded. "Good. The first thing I told you about war is that there are no rules. The manual I wrote is a good guideline, but it is not scripture. The First Company is the best we have, and I'm not going to try to limit my manpower available."

"Then why write the manual in the first place? Why create rules if you don't intend to follow them?" Preston countered.

"Because other people need rules. Preston, there are two types of people in the world. The shepherd, and the flock. You and I," Nate indicated to them," are the shepherds. The flocks live by our rules, but we are not beholden to them. I'm not trying to be egotistical, but we are better than them. We have to be, or we descend into chaos. It's what happened to the Minutemen in the first place"

It was a sharp blow, reminding Preston of the Minutemen before. As much as he tried, he couldn't let the fear of the past repeating itself go. Before Preston could reply, Thomas William, the captain of the Honour Guard, spoke up.

"It would not be the first time we have flaunted the Blue Book. The existence of my company is a good enough example. We aren't mentioned anywhere, yet we exist." He pointed out. "That said, we still follow the guidelines that you yourself established colonel."

"That you do, but the precedent is there, now. Either way, if I hadn't wanted you to know, you wouldn't have known." Nate said mysteriously.

"For all we know, this is only a fraction of your men. There could be dozens more out in the wasteland, and we'd never know it." Preston suddenly stated, and watched as two of the officers exchanged a glance with each other. He sighed loudly. "There are, aren't there?"

"Not dozens," Nate chuckled, "maybe two dozen at the most. They're more spies than soldiers, but they serve a purpose."

"So how strong _is_ the First Company then, Nate?" Preston asked him, exasperated.

"One-hundred and forty-four strong. It fluctuates occasionally but that number seems to be a constant."

"So really, the First is the First and Second?"

"I suppose it is."

The conversation died away, and Nate led Preston to a large office towards the back of the room. As they passed, the officers saluted, before returning to their duties, whatever they were. The office was rather simple, but had all the materials necessary for an officer to work, including a terminal, and a map of the Commonwealth as it existed before the bombs fell. Another map adorned the wall, and this one was to Commonwealth as it existed in the present, with Minutemen camps, Brotherhood outposts, and more marked on it. There were also locations of interest marked on it, with small descriptions of what drew the scouts attention to it, ranging from a potential settlement, to Super-Mutant infestations.

Nate was about to speak when the door flung open, and a messenger rushed in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt sirs," he panted, "but Colonel Thiel, the Brotherhood has put a hit out on Paladin Danse, claiming he is a synth. There's a hunting party chasing him, led by a… Knight Rhys."

Nate swore, and rose from where he had been sitting. Preston cut him off.

"We'll deal with this later. Don't let that man get killed. Go!"

 **MMXVII**

 **We're getting close to the end now. I would've submitted this chapter yesterday, but we were moving my sister into college, and the wi-fi sucked. But I'm back, and the Brotherhood knows Danse is a synth. The next chapter will be from Elder Maxson's perspective, and will start just around the time Nate returns from the Institute. Till then.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	31. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Arthur watched the sun set behind the Boston skyline. Unlike the capital, many of the tall skyscrapers still existed. It had led to a few interesting moments while Kells navigated the _Prydwen_ to the airport ruins. He suspected some of them were being used to spy on the Brotherhood, whether it was the Minutemen, the Railroad, or the Institute. The building gave a large advantage to whoever held them. His own spies had very little to tell him, though that may have been because they were barely spies. Wastelanders recruited from Diamond City with the promise of being well fed and payed if they spied on the Minutemen. Arthur didn't doubt for a moment that they had informed the Minutemen what they were tasked with, but some had indeed done what had been asked. Most simply vanished after the initial payment.

"Elder Maxson, there is a Minuteman messenger at the airport, asking to see you. He has a package, but he claims that Colonel Thiel said it was only to be handed to you, and you alone. He won't give it up. He won't even say what it is." That was Knight-Captain Rhys, promoted by Arthur personally, with Danse's recommendation.

"Keep him there, I am on my way." Arthur announced, and turned to head to the flight deck. His two bodyguards followed him as the usually did, both silent as usual.

One was silent by choice, and the other had none. Paladin Greg 'Kodiak' Bear had taken a round from a rifle in the throat while fighting super mutants, during the same battle that led to Sarah Lyon's death. They had saved his life, but not his ability to speak. Knight-Captain Irving Gallows, however, had always been a quiet man. The loss of both Lyons led to him taking a vow of silence, and he hadn't spoken since, similar to Kodiak. Both men were the last remnants of the Lyons Pride, which had almost entirely been wiped out when Sarah had died.

'Sarah' Arthur thought, 'There was a woman.' She had taught him how to kill a man, by stabbing him in the kidneys, and once in the field, he had shot her. He had fully expected to be punished for it, but once the wound had been treated, she had laughed, and ruffled his hair. Thinking of Sarah inadvertently led to thinking of the Lone Wanderer. Arthur wasn't sure if the man had ever told him his name, but Sarah had known it, one of the privileged few. He had been with the QRF that had gone to rescue Sarah and the Lyons pride from the ambush, but they had arrived too late. The wanderer had been devasted, and had torn into the surviving mutants, slaughtering them all, with a bloodlust he had never exhibited before. He had vanished several days after the funeral, and Arthur had heard rumours that he had returned to his vault, or killed himself, or was secretly planning the genocide of the Super-Mutants. The list went on and on.

By the time Arthur reached the gates, he had reminisced enough about the past, and turned his mind towards the present. The Minuteman that greeted them was surrounded by five Brothers, but looked immensely unimpressed. Arthur walked up to him, and noticed how young he was, almost his age.

"You're the messenger?" He asked, and the man nodded.

"Captain Savoldi, Colonel Thiel sends his regards." The man introduced himself. "The colonel recently infiltrated the Institute, and recovered a holotape of information. He asked me to bring you a copy of it."

"He was in the Institute?" Arthur asked, and the man nodded slowly, as if he was talking to a fool.

"Yes, he was in the Institute. He asked me to give that to you as a gesture of good will." He said, enunciating each word.

"He sent a captain to bring a holotape?" One of the soldiers asked, amused.

"The colonel assumed it would be discourteous to send a foot soldier. He very much doesn't want any insults to be traded by anyone of a lesser rank. I'm sure your elder can understand." With that, the captain turned, and strolled off, making about twenty metres before several Minutemen rose from the rubble and followed him.

Arthur sent a glare towards the captain of the guard, whose mouth was agape.

"Extend patrols twenty metres, and make sure they don't get that close again." He ordered.

Arthur handed the holotape off to a scribe, who would take it to Quinlan, and returned to his Vertibird, and was onboard the _Prydwen_ soon after. He made his way to the observation deck, where he found himself spending more of his time. He reclined into a chair, and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off.

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It took Quinlan four days to decipher the holotape, and what he found was a goldmine of information. It was a list of missing synths, however, that did the most damage.

"You're certain?" Arthur asked, his face white.

"Unfortunately, yes, I am certain. The sample is a match." Knight-Captain Cade announced, and Arthur swore softly.

"Assemble a team. Put Knight-Captain Rhys in charge of it, and task it with locating Paladin Danse. I want them to inform me when they have a location. I want to be there when it happens." He ordered.

"Yes, Elder Maxson. By your command." Kells departed from the meeting room, which still left him with the Proctors.

"We're sure this isn't a trap by the Minutemen or the Institute?" Teagan asked.

"No, we're not sure, but the probability is incredibly low." Cade responded, and Quinlan backed him up.

"Enough!" Arthur yelled. "Go back to your duties. If I am contacted by Knight-Captain Rhys, inform me. Do not talk of this more."

The others nodded and left meekly. Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose, before sighing deeply. It was going to be a long week, it seemed. He would be dealing with many issues, and didn't have the will to do so.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **Hullo. Shortish chapter, but I'm really tired and swamped with school, so I think I can be excused. There we got a little insight into the mind of Arthur Maxson. Soon, we'll see more of him. Cheers.**

 **SovierBabushka**


	32. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

It took three days for the strike team to find Danse, much quicker than Arthur had expected. Then again, it was being led by the synths former subordinate, who had spent many months with it. Arthur was flying towards an old pre-war bunker with his bodyguards to witness the execution of the abomination personally, once it was captured. For the sake of the other members of the team, Arthur hoped it didn't fight back. Once they landed, he noticed how quiet it truly was. There was no wildlife, no signs of danger. It explained why the strike team was so relaxed. Still, something seemed off, but Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on it. That all changed in a flash.

Including the strike team, there were nine of them, and except for Kodiak and Gallows, all of them wore light armour, instead of their power-armour units. Thus, there wasn't much the group could do when the surrounding area suddenly began teeming with movement. On the hilltops above them, and from the grasslands behind them, dozens upon dozens of men emerged, wearing anything from farmhand clothes, to military uniforms that Arthur belatedly realized were Minutemen standard issue. He heard Knight-Captain Rhys growl, and turned to see Colonel Thiel strutting towards them, with a tall African-American man following. They both wore thick trench coats over their fatigues, and olive-drab helmets, the only difference being that the other man had a gold eagle on his helmet, while Thiel had a silver one. The man approached Arthur confidently.

"We haven't formally met yet, because I've sent Colonel Thiel to negotiate on my behalf. I'm General Garvey, and you're violating the stipulations of our treaty." The man said, and Arthur couldn't help but stare at him. For a moment, at least.

"This is Brotherhood business, so I'm going to have to respectfully," Arthur emphasized the word, "ask that you leave. Now."

"And I'm going to respectfully point out that we have your ass surrounded, and if I so wished it, I could kill you all now, before moving on to that wonderfully flammable blimp." General Garvey countered. "Let's talk, Elder Maxson, before any stupid decisions are made."

The man had a point, Arthur conceded, so he motioned for the general to keep talking. He did, however, notice the glaring going on between Thiel and Rhys.

"Part of the treaty that you signed, and agreed to, was that unless assaulted, synths were to be left alone. I know for a fact that Danse attacked no one, and fled before any found him. This means that he is protected by the treaty, and is, therefore, under my jurisdiction." Garvey explained neatly, and Arthur found himself tensing up.

"The treaty did, however, cover what we were allowed to do with infiltrators, and Danse falls under that category." Arthur responded, expecting to win the fight, but instead, Thiel snorted loudly.

"Please, I looked at the file. Danse was listed under the 'escaped/missing' portion of that data. He had no idea he was a synth. Maxson, I'm telling you now, he's ours, not yours. You want him, but you can't have him. That's just the way it works." Thiel informed him, and Rhys stepped forward.

To Arthurs surprise, Kodiak stepped to cut him off, and gestured for him to step back with his head. The knight-captain hesitated, before doing so. He turned towards Gallows, and stared at him for a moment. The veteran sighed, before turning to Arthur.

"Greg says to let Danse go, not as a reward, but in recognition of what he did for the Brotherhood." Gallows voice was rough, and unused, but clear. Normally, a paladin instructing the elder on what to do would be seen as a crime, but Kodiak had served for many, many years. His opinion wasn't one to be shrugged aside.

"And how exactly did he say that, while staring at you?" Thiel cut in, and Gallows turned to him.

"Morse code." The former member of the Lyons Pride responded, and Thiel nodded, satisfied with the answer.

There was a moment of silence while Arthur thought about what to do. It was true, the news about Danse had devastated him, especially because of the friendship he had built with the synth, but letting him live went against everything he stood for, and all that he had preached about for this campaign. He made his decision.

"The synth will be allowed to live. But if this happens again, not even the Minutemen will stop me." Arthur warned, and to his chagrin, both Garvey and Thiel barked out a laugh.

"All right, whatever you say." Thiel told him, before strolling on past towards the bunker.

Arthur ground his teeth together, before ordering the men onto his Vertibird. It was a tight fit, but they all boarded on. The Vertibird took off, and as it left the area, Arthur could see just how many men there had truly been. Maybe a hundred thirty to a hundred fifty men were busy at work, digging entrenchments into the area surrounding the bunker, maybe expecting Arthur to return with a bigger force. He sighed, and thanked his ancestors that he had escaped such a bad situation.

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Danse stood ready in the control room. His motion sensors had picked up the movement, and he knew a Brotherhood team would find him soon. He had decided not to fight, and let them apprehend, and most likely execute, him. He heard the elevator coming down, and prepared for the worst. It never came.

"Wow, this is like, a nice hole. I mean, not the classiest, but not horrible either." That was a voice Danse had not been expecting.

Nate Thiel waltzed out of the elevator like he owned the place. He walked around, before spotting Danse in the control room.

"Hey bud, do you want to come out here, or should I come in there, because I don't really feel like slogging through that big puddle there." Nate called out, and Danse held a chuckle in. He left the control room, and walked over to Nate.

"What are you doing here? The Brotherhood will be here any moment, and I don't want you caught up in this." Danse explained, worried for the safety of the colonel, and a man he could consider a friend.

"Nah, General Garvey just talked Elder Maxson out of his witch hunt, so officially, you are no longer a member of the Brotherhood. Technically, you're my prisoner." Nate told him casually, and Danse almost fainted from the news. "Because of this, however, I am required to escort you to the Castle, so we may undergo a debriefing process for you. I'm sorry, but it's procedure, one even I won't break."

Danse nodded mutely, and followed Nate out of the bunker. When he exited it, he saw a mass of troops digging trenches into the surrounding area, and filling sandbags. A group rushed into the bunker, and Danse was certain he heard one of them mutter something about 'cool-ass synths' but he wasn't positive. A unit of maybe twenty men followed Nate and Danse as they left. He recognized some of them from the time Nate had spent with Recon Team Gladius. The others, he didn't know, but he swore they looked familiar, he just couldn't place where from. He was glad that Nate had found him. He didn't want to die, even if he was just a programmed machine. While he couldn't say he looked forward to the future, he could say that he didn't fear it as much anymore.

 **MMXVII  
**

**AN:**

 **Danse is NOT dead, or being held captive. The procedure is just formal, but necessary. We won't actually see it, because the next chapter is going to jump a few weeks or so. This is the beginning of the ends folks. Have a good read, and keep leaving reviews.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	33. Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

Danse had been told that the Castle was no longer the training facility for the Minutemen, or any facility in general, and now was only being held to prevent raiders or mutants from gaining access to it. The result was that instead of the two companies that had been stationed at the fort before, there was only a platoon, thirty men strong, defending it. Danse was certain it was still enough men, however, after watching the daily drills the soldiers defending the Castle underwent. He had been invited to join in several times, but had denied each time. He didn't understand why the Minutemen, who knew he was a synth, and therefore a danger to them all, didn't seem to ostracise him. In fact, he had learned the names of most of the men by the end of his third day at the Castle, a fact that had surprised Nate, but had also seemed to please him. He still recalled the 'debriefing' he was given when he arrived.

" _Right, time to debrief you. You're a synth, but that doesn't make you any less of a person, Danse. You're still the man you were, and nothing can change that. Certainly not this." Nate had told him. "Well that was an easy debriefing. The northwest corner houses a small room, usually reserved for important persons, which you most certainly are. It's yours for the foreseeable future."_

" _I- What?" Danse had stuttered out, and Nate chuckled._

" _You're not a prisoner, Danse. Right now, you're a citizen who needs out assistance, and we're giving it." Nate said, before walking off to converse with an unnamed lieutenant, who later introduced himself to Danse as Silver Nightshade, a Commonwealth native who had joined the Minutemen before they had been reformed, but had left in disgust of what they had become. He had returned when he heard Radio Freedom broadcasting once more, intrigued by the resurgence of the militia._

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXS_

It was Lieutenant Nightshade who found him now, as he looked over the bay towards the airport, and the _Prydwen_. The man leaned against the ramparts, but remained silent for a moment.

"You know, it was wrong of them to put a hit on you." He said simply, and Danse found himself shaking his head.

"I'm the personification of what we- they- came here to fight. It was the right choice for Elder Maxson to make." Danse defended his former brothers. He couldn't let a decade of loyalty just vanish.

He heard a scoff, and turned to see Jeremy Koumal approaching.

"It wasn't the right decision, it was the easy decision. The right decision would've been to acknowledge that the Institute listed you as missing or escaped, which meant they had nothing to do with you. From there, it would've been simple to ascertain that you weren't a spy, and that your years serving them were because you wanted to, not because you were ordered to." Koumal stated, his voice surprisingly neutral.

"You may think so, but that's not the Brotherhood way." Danse responded bitterly. He hated himself, but he was starting to hate Maxson more, for the pain he had caused him.

"I know it's not." Silver said, joining the conversation once more. "We all know it's not. Danse, we aren't doing this because Colonel Thiel ordered us to, we're doing this because we've seen you. You're a good man, and don't deserve the self-loathing you're radiating."

"That was very well put, gentlemen. I need a moment with the good man here." Nate's voice drifted over, and Danse saw him leaning back onto a railing, a small smile on his face. Both men saluted, and left Danse alone with Nate.

"They're good men, both of them. General Garvey actually remembers Silver from back in the day. He left after the previous general had been killed. Ronnie Shaw left shortly after, he had that much of an influence on her. She raised him, actually. He came back when Preston and I took over, but you knew that already." Nate spoke mindlessly, before refocusing on Danse. "We're planning a war with the Institute, and they know we are. I'm expecting retaliation of some sort, but I don't know where or how. I'd like your help to prepare for it."

"But I'm one of them. I'm a-" Danse began, but was cut off quickly.

"I'm not going to let you finish that statement. You are Danse, a former member of the Brotherhood of Steel, and currently, a citizen under the protection of the Minutemen. You are a synth, yes, _but you are not one of them._ " Nate practically growled at him. "Because we're taking such good care of you, you are going to repay the favour by helping me go through some files, and discern the best action we can take."

Nate took another breath to continue speaking, but before he could, a bright blue line slammed into his shoulder, and Danse could smell the distinct smell that was burning flesh. His instincts took over quickly.

"Sniper! Officer hit!" He called as he pulled Nate off the walls. Men were moving rapidly, pulling on armour, or grabbing weapons. He saw a man in an undershirt and boxers with a combat vest over it as he lugged a large machine gun to a firing emplacement on the wall.

Lance Morgan quickly appeared by Danse's side, leaning over Nate, who was unconscious from the hit. He heard the medic swear.

"This is from a laser rifle, but it's far more powerful than anything I've seen yet." He didn't even flinch as an explosion rocked the courtyard behind him, before looking up at Danse. "You need to take control of this situation. None of these men have the experience you do."

"What? No, I'm not in your chain of command!" Danse protested, but Morgan socked him in the jaw.

"I don't care! I need time to perform the necessary surgery on him, and I can't do that if I get flooded by wounded! You can make sure that doesn't happen, so do it!" The medic all but ordered, and Danse nodded.

He made his way up to the ramparts, where men were blindly firing at anything that moved.

"Stop firing, you're wasting ammunition!" Danse bellowed out, and the men stopped. Lieutenant Nightshade made his way over to Danse, and nodded at him.

"You've got command, sir." The lieutenant said, and Danse turned to look at the situation. Men were still hurrying to emplacements, and he noticed several people loitering in the courtyard.

"Get those civilians inside, and slowly make sure that every man is with his squad. Don't move more than two men at a time." He turned, looking towards where the shot that hit Nate had come from. "There's a sniper somewhere in that area. I want him gone." 

"I've got it." Jeremy Koumal said, and he rushed inside the walls, before reappearing a moment later with a long rifle in his hands. Belatedly, Danse realized that it was a Barrett Anti-Material rifle.

Koumal nestled the beast of a gun in between a firing slot, and sat still. Danse turned and began issuing new orders, and making sure that the Castle was secured. After a few minutes, a loud _boom_ emanated from where Koumal was, and Danse heard the echo of the shot for a few more seconds.

"Sniper's down, but there's at least two hundred older model synths heading for us. I think the sniper was a courser." He reported.

"All right, pick off as many as you can." He turned towards Michael Tanner, who was standing nearby with a DKS-501. "You help him."

Tanner nodded, and climbed on top of the turret that led down to the courtyard, before laying prone on top of it. A shot rang out a second later, followed by one from the Barrett.

Nightshade reappeared, this time with a woman who had an old police vest on. This one, however, had the words _PRESS_ stamped on in white paint, and Danse held a sigh in.

"I tried to stop her, but Miss Piper is a right Valkyrie when she doesn't get what she wants." There was a black eye forming that indicated he was right.

"Nate's been shot, the Castle is under siege, and you want me to stay put?" She demanded. "I don't think so. How can I help?"

Danse groaned. He didn't need this. "You can make sure the men have any ammunition they need. Take messages between squad leaders." He held up a hand to cut her off when he opened her mouth. "You want to help? Do this, otherwise, you can go help Morgan in the med bay."

The reporter opened and closed her mouth, before nodding, and rushing off towards the armoury. Danse turned back to the cadre of men that were waiting for his orders. Nate had told him that he had wanted help to fight the Institute. This was the only way Danse knew how. He looked each man in the eye, before he began issuing orders again. The Battle for the Castle had begun.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **WHOO! Papa Danse is back, and with a vengeance. To recap, Nate's been shot, and a lot of synths are assaulting the Castle, as it happens in the Minutemen questline. With Nate out of commission, Danse has assumed command of the Castle, despite having literally no rank in the Minutemen. The next chapter will continue from this one. Like I said, this is the beginning of the end. Also, to Titanfire999, who left the review about Nate's shortcomings, read the story. I'll give you a hint. It's his pride. Till next time,**

 **SovietBabushka**


	34. Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two

Piper carried another box of bullets to the northern rampart. Her arms were burning, but she refused to drop it, or stop. The Castle had been under siege for almost three days now, and according to all reports, it wasn't the only one. Concord had been occupied, and most settlements were dealing with raids. They wouldn't be getting help any time soon, that much was certain. She had been present when Danse had spoken with Preston, informing him of the situation. The general was clearly surprised to hear that Danse had been placed in command, by the men holding the Castle no less, but he didn't strip the command for him. Instead, he gave him a field promotion to captain, and tasked him with holding the fort as long as he could.

Piper had initially been furious that she had been tasked with shuttling bullets back and forth, but she saw how important it was shortly after. While the original force that had attacked the Castle had only been a few hundred strong, the number had steadily increased over the next few days, to the point that almost a thousand synths surrounded a fort held by thirty men and women. Four assaults had been repulsed since the siege began, and she had watched as thousands of rounds were fired into the oncoming hordes of synths. She had begun recruiting her protégé reporters to assist her, and she watched with pride as they did, shuttling ammo, food, and water to the men on the walls. Several of them had also taken up weapons themselves, and were on the walls with the other Minutemen.

Captain Danse was a godsend, Piper decided. Since he had taken command, he had been awake almost constantly, either shifting resources, or countering attacks. Nate was being kept unconscious as he was treated. Lance had told her that the shot from the rifle had been over charged, and that the burns had spread across his body like a lightning strike, leaving scars that branched across his upper torso. She had briefly seen them, along with the other scars he held. It saddened her immensely to see what had happened to him. It wasn't fair, for all this to happen to such a good man.

"DOWN!" A voice yelled out, and Piper dropped to the ground, just before an explosion rocked the Castle.

Then, she heard a clinking, and saw a metal cylinder several feet from her. Piper began scrambling backwards, fearing it was a grenade. It was worse than that. What looked like a bolt of lighting struck the ground, and a man emerged from thin air. He was wearing a peculiar uniform, and had a blank expression on his face. She heard a voice call out a word that chilled her blood.

"Courser! Courser inside the walls!"

A brave man rushed the courser, only to have his throat crushed by the courser, which turned and looked at her. Before Piper could even react, the courser was tackled to the ground by Danse, who fired five shots from a .45 pistol right into its face. The blood sprayed everywhere, but Piper couldn't find it in herself to care. She had just watched a courser appear from nowhere, only to be killed by Danse. The man was climbing off the synth assassins body when he saw her. He walked over and stuck a hand out.

"Are you alright, Miss Wright?" He asked her, and she nodded mutely, not being able to say much. Danse grabbed her by the elbow and escorted her to the med bay, where Lance was treating several wounded men. Most simply had the wounds wrapped in a bandage, got a shot of Med-X, and then were sent back out to fight. She was sat down in a chair in the corner. Lance shot a glance in her direction and sighed, before finishing wrapping up a man who had a large cut on his forehead.

"Captain, what happened?" He asked Danse as he began working on another man, his previous patient rushing back out to the walls.

"A courser got inside the walls somehow. Miss Wright was there when it happened. She watched Morrigan die. I'm assuming its shock." Danse explained briefly. "I have to get back to the walls."

With that, Danse left her alone in the med bay, where Nate was still recovering, and began praying to whoever was listening that he would recover soon. Danse was doing an amazing job, she would grant him that, but Nate just had a grasp on battles that no else seemed to. He could pick up the ebbs and flows of combat, and adjust accordingly. MacCready came in close second, but he was leading an assault on Concord, to break the threat the Institute forces there had on Sanctuary. Once they were driven from Concord, MacCready would be leading the relief force, but they knew not how long it would take him to do so.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Miles away, in the Institute, Shaun was reading the reports of his Synth legions on the surface. He had heard of his father being injured in the fighting, but the report came in almost as soon as the battle had started, and he had become suspicious of how it occurred. He had secretly tasked Madison Li with investigating how it came to be so, but he had his own theories on what had happened. His father had spent a week with them, learning as much as he could, before apologizing to Shaun, and telling him that he couldn't stand for what the Institute did. He revealed that his wife, Shaun's mother, would have been horrified with what he was doing, and that the only mercy of her death was that she didn't have to see this. That had been a particularly hard conversation. It had led to the first time he had wept in thirty years.

" _All of this, Shaun, it's wrong! I gave you and your people the benefit of doubt, and all it's done is prove me right, something that I really hate." His father had exclaimed, when Shaun had asked him why he hadn't gone to Libertalia. "Nora was a lawyer, you know. Do you even know what it was she fought for?"_

" _She was a civil lawyer, I know that much. There were no files on her cases." Shaun had replied meekly, cowed by the fury his father was emanating._

" _She fought for civil rights! When people began being oppressed and hunted, she fought to make sure that they were being treated correctly. She made more enemies than friends, but she stuck by what she knew was right. She would be horrified by this." Father had waved his arms around at the Institute. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad she isn't around the see this. She'd have been heartbroken."_

 _"Father, I-" Shaun began._

" _No, Shaun, listen to me. I know your kind far too well. It was people like you and your Institute that led to the destruction of our world, the reason you never knew your mother. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I'm leaving, but I'll come back. It'll be with an army. I hope you do the right thing." With that, his father had turned and walked out, vanishing from the safety of the Institute._

There was a knock at his door, and he called whomever it was in. It was Doctor Li, and she had a troubled look on her face. It seemed his suspicions were correct.

"It was Ayo. He wrote a subroutine into a courser, with the explicit task of killing your father. He doesn't know he's been found out, but it does explain his smug attitude over the past few days. He thinks he's succeeded." Li explained.

"Then it is as I feared." Shaun sighed. "Thank you, Madison. Would you please call Doctor Secord to my office, please?"

Li nodded, and left. Several minutes later, Alana Secord arrived at his door, and he ushered her in.

"Doctor Ayo has gone against my orders, and tried to have my father killed." Shaun explained simply, and Alana's hands flew up to her mouth. "I'm going to have him dealt with. Please let me know when X6-88 returns from Libertalia, and have him sent to me. Congratulations, you are now in charge of the SRB."

Alana hesitated for a moment. "X6-88 returned several hours ago. He's with Doctor Ayo now."

"Send him here anyway, and if Ayo objects, remind him who it is that is in charge here." Shaun replied, unconcerned. Alana nodded, and left him alone.

Shaun sat down at his terminal and opened up a folder that contained all the information on his parents, including reports on his father after the bombs had fallen. He hadn't lied to his father, there were no files on his mother's cases, but there were notes about who she had upset, and how dangerous it was for her. One file was actually a recorded conversation between two lawyers that both despised her. He enjoyed listening to it, because it gave him an idea of what his father was like before the bombs dropped.

" _Did you hear that Nora Thiel challenged another arrest of a supposed insurgent?" The first lawyer, only known as Peterson stated._

" _That's not good. If she keeps this up, the government will come after her." The second lawyer, a woman named Miles, replied._

" _Hey, as long as it gets rid of her, I don't care. She's making our firm look like traitors." Peterson said, his voice wistful._

" _We could send a tip saying we suspect her of communist influences, that would get rid of her quickly." Miles mused, and then there was the sound of the door slamming._

" _That's an interesting idea. Frame my wife for protecting the innocent." Shaun's father suddenly entered the conversation. "Only, that would mean that I would have to kill both of you. And let me tell you, when a Delta Operator claims he killed two suspected insurgents, do you really think they're going to care?"_

 _His father's voice was a low growl, and there was a whimper in the background._

" _You can't threaten me! I'm the best lawyer this firm has, and your whore wife-" Peterson never finished, as the sound of a fist making contact with flesh resounded through the recording, and Shaun was certain he heard the sound of cracking bone._

" _Call my wife a whore again, and I won't even have to report you as a Chinese spy. They'll never know what happened to you." The deep, rough voice of his father came in. "Don't speak, I just broke your jaw. Good luck in trial, counsellor."_

At that, the recording cut out, but it did bring joy to see how fiercely his father defended his mother. There was a note saying that Counsellor Peterson had to be replaced in his trial, due to an injury sustained in a bar fight, and he was subsequently disbarred, on the orders of the Governor of the New England Commonwealth, a former soldier.

X6-88 made himself known by coughing slightly, and Shaun turned to face him.

"Ah, good. I have a task for you." Shaun informed the courser, a slight glint in his eyes, which he told himself weren't tears threatening to break free.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN: Okay, so I kinda lied. The first half of this chapter was about the Castle. But we did get to see Shaun's perspective into his father, and what he believed in, so that was cool to write. As for Danse's promotion to Captain, before any of you get your panties in a bunch, remember, he has been a soldier for a decade, and fought at Adams AFB, during Fallout 3. That's canon. He's also known as Maxson's most respected officer, a fact that Nate and Preston would most definitely know about, therefore it's not out of the realm of possibility for the General of the Minutemen, whose currently dealing with many synth raids and assaults out of nowhere, would promote a man he knows to be a great leader directly to a command rank. This isn't the current world or military we have, rather one that's entirely meritocratic. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter, and let me know what you think!**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	35. Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Robert Joseph MacCready had not expected to find himself leading almost three companies of men to the relief of the Castle. He had done well enough taking Concord back from the Institute, but when General Preston Garvey had informed him that he would take his force of men to the Castle, he had been thoroughly confused. He was a captain, and more of an honorary one at that, yet it was him, not Ronnie Shaw, that would be leading the Minutemen to go help Nate. Sure, he had a decent grasp on tactics and strategy, but he wasn't much of a leader, so the fact he was in charge annoyed him more than anything.

Regardless, Nate needed help, so he was coming. He owed so much to the man, and he'd be damned if he let him down. Among the soldiers he was leading was Curie, the Minutemen's newly appointed Surgeon-General, who was coming was a small force of medics and doctors to treat all the wounded at the Castle, which included Nate himself. They were about an hour away, moving slowly through the ruins of Boston, wary for ambushes by Super-Mutants, raiders, or the Institute, all of which could be serious threats. RJ had sent scouts ahead to determine the status of the Castle, and was anxiously waiting for their return.

MacCready and his men were currently resting at the Mass Bay Medical Centre, not necessarily because they needed to, but more for the doctors accompanying Curie. They were currently scrounging through the medical centre looking for any extra supplies. MacCready had insisted that the centre be cleared first, and Curie had begrudgingly agreed. There had been a couple bandits stoned beyond belief, but they had attacked the men clearing, so they were currently dumped behind the building. MacCready was in one of the patient rooms, listening to a holotape recorded before the war, but stopped when one of the scouts he sent out rushed into the room.

"They're alive!" The man reported jubilantly, and MacCready felt a grin spread across his face. "They beat the synths off, but they have a ton of walking wounded. They need help, fast."

MacCready nodded, and was already moving, yelling for the men to get ready to move. He found Curie already packed up, instructing her acolytes on what to do with all the medicine and chems. She nodded at him, and began yelling at her students in French, which, for some reason, seemed to work, because they began moving faster, and in almost ten minutes, the entire force was ready to move out. The moved with a faster pace through the Boston ruins, hoping to reach the castle within an hour or two.

In the end, it took them two and a half hours to reach the Castle, due to running into a Super-Mutant war party. When they arrived, MacCready took in the scene. The causeways surrounding the castle were littered with synths, so much that he struggled to see the ground. Craters from shells littered the ground, but there were Minutemen on the walls.

"Flash!" A voice called from the ramparts, and MacCready cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Thunder"

A moment later, the doors to the Castle opened. More accurately, the collapsed forward to the ground, and two men stumbled out. Jeremy Koumal was one, and former-paladin-now-captain Danse was the other. Koumal had his arm strapped to his chest, while Danse's head was tightly bandaged, and even then, it was covered in blood.

"Oh, thank God" Koumal said, collapsing into the arms of a soldier. "You have medics, that's good."

The man proceeded to pass out, and was loaded onto a stretcher, Danse was still standing, but he was swaying slightly. One of Curie's medics slid beside Danse, holding him upright.

"Captain MacCready, as the senior officer, I cede command of the Castle to you. Do you want my report?" Danse was barely standing at this point, and the fact he was willing to report to RJ amazed him.

"No, no. Let's get you and the others treated, and once you've recovered, we'll talk." MacCready told the man, who opened his mouth to speak. "You did good, Danse. No one else could have done this."

"Six men. Their families need to be told." Danse mumbled, before he too was unconscious. Like Koumal, Danse was loaded onto a stretcher, and the men moved into the Castle.

MacCready had brought enough men to comfortably fit in the old fort, but that had been before the siege. Many of the building that had stood in the courtyard were gone, either burned down or blown up. The walls still stood, however, which meant that men could be stationed inside those. The large radio beacon that had broadcasted _Radio Freedom_ across the Commonwealth had been destroyed, and was leaning against one of the ramparts. Just like the outside of the walls, the inner courtyard was littered with synths, including some bodies that looked so humanlike that they had to be coursers. There were five of those bodies total, and one of them was missing a face. RJ shuddered to think about how that happened. The majority of the bodies were ringed around the entrance to the medical wing, though Mac saw the bodies of several minutemen on the outside. The six that Danse had mentioned, most likely.

They were behind cover, and most had died with weapons in their hands. They must've pulled a rear-guard action to allow the men inside to fortify themselves in. He recognized several of them, but the worst was Michael Tanner, who had his knife buried in one of the courser's, but was riddled with laser burns. Tanner had been a good man, and an even better sniper. Nate would be devastated. Curie and her medics rushed into the medical centre, but he was too busy looking at this last stand of men. All of them had belonged to different squads, but had chosen to fight and die together. He wasn't sure he would have had the courage to do so.

"I heard that Mike was one of the dead." A raspy voice called out, and Mac snapped up to see Nate leaning against the wall.

"Yeah." Was all MacCready could respond with.

"I should have known they were planning this. It was a master stroke, really. They took me out in the first shot of the battle, expecting that we'd lose." Nate chuckled darkly. "They weren't counting on Danse and Nightshade, I think."

"Silver's still alive?" RJ asked his friend, and the man nodded.

"Got smacked in the face by a courser and had his jaw shattered, but he's alive. He'll need surgery, though. Most people here will, actually. We're pretty beat up." Nate said, his eyes glazed over.

"Monsieur Thiel you must return to your sick bed!" Curie's furious voice drifted from the medical wing.

"Looks like mom found out about my escape. See you later R.J." And just like that, Nate was gone, dragged back into the dark by either Curie or one of her medics.

MacCready sighed, and called all his unit leaders together. The captains and lieutenants gathered around him.

"All right, first things first, let's clean up this mess. Someone contact one of the small boat teams, and have them come here. Dump the synths into the ocean, tied together or something like that. Keep the coursers here, but locked up somewhere, I don't want to take any chances." MacCready began, motioning to the surrounding carnage. "Then, find out where the hell the Second Company is, because we are really going to need their help to rebuild this. Finally, send a messenger over to the Brotherhood. I want to know why they just sat and watched this happen."

The men snapped to attention, and went about to disperse his orders. Mac watched them, before climbing up the stairs to the walls, which were mostly empty at this point. There were so many casings on the ground each step he took resulted in a jingling sound. Thousands or bullets had been fired, and they hadn't even had the time to sweep them off the walls. This was a defence that would go in the history books, that much Mac knew. He just wasn't sure if it would be remembered as the beginning of the end for the Institute, or the Minutemen.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN: The aftermath, which was fun to write. We'll see more of the bigger picture next chapter, but I wanted to report what happened at the Castle. If anyone wasn't mentioned, they're still alive. This is kind of beyond reasonable, but I wanted an Alamo-esque battle where the beleaguered defenders won. The victory itself will be addressed later in the story, as we'll see. As always, leave a review, and let me know what you think.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	36. Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Preston watched sadly as the central map at the Minutemen Command Centre was updated. The former vault that Nate had the base built in was done so secretly that not even the Institute knew it was there, so they had completely bypassed it, instead cutting off several important bases. Preston had organized the defence and counter attacks from the underground base, making sure that strikes were executed simultaneously, so that the Institute couldn't react fast enough. It still wasn't enough. Jamaica Plains, Greentop Nursery, the Slog, Covenant, and Kingsport were all destroyed by synth assault divisions, killing around four hundred people total. Those were lives that mattered, and chances are, at least one person in each Minutemen squad had lost family. The men were furious, and waiting to take the fight to the Institute, only they didn't know how.

Curie had contacted him, and informed him that many of the men who had been at the castle were badly injured, and would be out of action for anywhere between one week to a month. The problem was that those men included his second-in-command, half of the Second Company, and a newly-promoted captain who led the desperate defence of the Castle. Six men of the original thirty were dead, including one of the Untouchables. It seemed it was a time for new discoveries. One of the exploration teams had discovered a vein of gold in the tunnels outside the construction zone, and it was being marked for excavation. Preston didn't know if they had any miners that actually knew how to extract minerals, but he would have to find out. Caps were backed with purified water, but with the increase in safety and Minutemen patrols, that same water was becoming more common, decreasing the value of caps. Nate had mentioned how pre-war money was backed with gold. Preston wondered if the Minutemen could set something similar up.

Another material discovered was Uranium, and that made Preston more nervous. He had demanded that it only be used to power the large reactor at the back of the base, and his orders had been followed. He knew what the material could be used for, and didn't want that to become the progression for weapons development. Any unrefined Uranium was stored in a vault, and kept under lock and key at all times, protected by a squad from the Honour Guard. Nate had been informed as soon as he arrived at the Command Centre. He had agreed with Preston, and told him that it was the right decision. They hadn't talked about it since.

Nate was standing next to him, his arm in a sling, but other than that, he looked every bit a soldier, with olive drab fatigues, and a thick trench coat, one sleeve hanging limply at his side. His cap had a silver star on it, and he had recently shaved, and had his hair trimmed by a barber. He was studying the map, but Preston had no idea why. They knew _where_ the institute was, but they didn't know _how_ to get in. It was extremely frustrating to the both of them. It was Danse, interestingly, who thought of an idea.

"We know that they've expanded underground since the bombs fell, and have since sealed off the original entrance down, but does that mean there are no more ways into the facility?" He mused one day, during a meeting. "They have a functioning sewage system, and Colonel Thiel mentioned that an old facility was shut down and replaced with a newer one."

"That means that there is an unmanned, unprotected facility in the Institute. Boston is riddled with underground rooms, tunnels, and more. Maybe one of those could lead into the institute?"

There was a moment of silence, before Nate chuckled. "Damn, that's a really good point. Get me Koumal and Jun."

It took several minutes, but both men arrived together.

"Koumal, you still got your Pip-Boy?" Nate asked, and the sniper nodded. "Good, come here."

The man ambled over, and Nate tinkered with the device Koumal pulled from his pack.

"There, I put in the coordinates for several structural weaknesses inside the institute. Jun, I want you to lead a the 1st squad, and a squad from the second into the tunnels in Cambridge. See how close you can get to any of those positions."

Jun nodded, and both men left. Nate turned back to the others.

"We need to replace our losses from these attacks, and reassure all our dependants that we can keep them safe. I've heard of rumblings that some eastern settlements want to join up with the Brotherhood." Nate's face darkened at the mention of the foreign force. "Do we know what they were doing while the massive synth assault all across the Commonwealth occurred?"

Several officers turned their gazes to Danse, but the man sat there with a blank expression. It was MacCready who spoke.

"A minor assault on each outpost, but Elder Maxson pulled all his units back in to weather the storm. Apparently, a newly promoted paladin convinced the Elder to let us handle the Institute on our own. But I don't know much more than that." Mac reported, and Nate growled softly next to Preston.

He decided he needed to take control of the situation.

"Someone get a message to Elder Maxson that I want to meet with him. At the Castle, too. We're going to have a nice chat, I think." Preston ordered, and a lieutenant darted out to make the call. Preston continued. "We've established a proper communication centre here, and I want to use that to our advantage. We need to get portable radios in each squad, all the way up the command levels. We're going to start training dedicated communication officers, and it will all be run from here. Orders go up and down the chain of command, but I want reports on everything that happens, understood?"

There was a resounding 'Yes Sir!' and then Preston dismissed the officers. Nate hung around, however, leaning back against the wall, still looking at the map.

"You did good, Preston. I'm honestly surprised I missed something as basic as radiomen. I guess that's a sign, isn't it?" Nate asked him, and Preston paused briefly.

"If you think you're incompetent, I want you to stop that train of thought right away. Nate, you're a great soldier, one of the best I've ever seen, but you're not infallible, and you are most certainly not a god. Others may see you that way, but remember, you are human." Preston turned to face his friend, before seeing just how tired he looked. "Go shower, and then sleep. You look dead on your feet. That's an order from the General."

Nate looked at him a moment, and then saluted, turned, and left. Preston sighed, and slid down the wall, resting his face in his hands. Nate wasn't the only one who needed to sleep either, it seemed. He rose, and made his way to his room, and told the guard outside that unless it was an incredibly important emergency, he wouldn't be woken. The guard nodded, saluted, and went back to his post. Nate walked past with a plate of hot food in his hand, and slowed as he reached Preston's door.

"Christ, Deacon, get a better disguise." He called over his shoulder, and Preston froze in the doorway, before turning and looking at the guard, who was looking at the ground sheepishly.

"Des wanted to know what was happening. I figured this would be the best way to find out." The spy responded, and both Preston and Nate let out an exasperated sigh.

"Deacon, next time, just ask. Seriously." Nate said, and Preston nodded, about to turn to the door, before stopping.

"Deacon, you actually have to guard my door until I'm awake. If I wake up, and you're not here, all help rendered to the Railroad ceases." Preston told him, and he heard Nate laugh down the hallway as he closed the door. There was a muffled swearing, but no further sounds.

Preston slid into his large, four post bed, and promptly fell asleep. He had been awake for seventy-six hours at that point.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN: Wow, I really didn't feel like writing, but I did it anyway because I love you guys. I've got a big load of school work this week, so don't expect another chapter by Sunday. I used to be so good at pumping these out too. Oh well. Also, I'm working on a bunch of other stories at the same time as well, that will be published once this story, and several others, are finished, or close to it. Leave a review, and until next time.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	37. Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

Arthur hopped off the Vertibird on a strip of land outside the Castle. The area had changed drastically since he had last viewed it, almost two months prior. Any surrounding buildings were gone, destroyed by artillery and concentrated gunfire. The ground was churned and scorched black, with not a sign of green anywhere. The walls of the fort were riddled with laser burns, but the Minutemen flag flew proudly. Proctor Ingram followed behind him, as did Paladin Lucia, newly promoted after spending several months managing logistics, and discovering who it was that was stealing resources. The paladin whistled lowly.

"Those burns run deep. Thousands of rounds must've been fired at the wall. Were they trying to bring it down?" She mused to Ingram, who was also staring at the fort in awe.

"How many men held this? A hundred? Two hundred?" Ingram asked aloud, more to herself than anyone else.

"Thirty-six men held the fort, proctor." Colonel Thiel was standing by the gate, which had clearly been replaced recently. His arm was in a sling, nestled against his chest, but he looked well. His beard, which Arthur had come to see as a part of the man, was completely gone, showcasing a scar on his lip that ran down to the apex of his chin.

"Thirty-six? How did you do it?" Lucia asked, and Arthur was glad she did, because if she hadn't, he might have.

"I didn't. I was wounded at the beginning of the siege. Captain Danse took command of the situation, and held off the synth horde." Thiel said it casually, but his eyes were drilling right into Arthur's, and he knew he was waiting for a reaction.

An awkward silence over took the group, so Arthur was incredibly grateful when General Garvey strolled out of the gate, flanked by a man and a woman. The man wore the silver bars of a captain, while the woman wore the oak leaf of a major. Arthur recognized the man. He was the captain who had run the Institute holotape over to the airport, before vanishing just as quickly.

"Elder Maxson. I'm glad you're here." General Garvey said. He made a quick gesture with his hand and the captain passed a fairly large stack of paper to him. Garvey handed right off to Arthur, who was immensely confused as to what it was. "It's the names of everyone who died while you sat in your little blimp."

Arthur looked at the book in his hands and then back at Garvey.

"We had the Castle under siege, we had Concord occupied, and most of our settlements fought off raids by synths over three days. You, however, had a grand total of four attacks, all of which were repulsed fairly easily. And while innocent men and women were dying, fighting off the organization that you claimed you came here to destroy, you hid in your bases, and let it happen. We're not here to have any sort of discussion, elder. This is a reprimand, not from me, not from Nate, but from the people you let die because you were too busy politicking." Garvey's voice was ice cold, similar to the way Thiel could be at times, and Arthur found himself feeling the twenty-one years he was. He hadn't felt like a child in many years. "You can leave now, elder. I've said all I wanted to."

With that, Garvey turned and walked away, followed by the two that had accompanied him. Thiel remained behind. He looked sadly at Arthur.

"I lost six men defending this place. We had been drive off the walls, and were pulling back to the medical wing to make a final stand. We needed time to barricade, and six men volunteered to stay outside. One of the men who died was a man I personally recruited. Michael Tanner. He was a sniper, and a damn good one too. The others came from each of the squads stationed here." Thiel said, looking out towards the water. "You're a good kid, you really are, but you're still young, and even with as much as you've seen, and as much as you've done, you're never really ready to lead men in a war. Especially when your field officers dislike us. I know it was Rhys who convinced you to lock down your troops. He's never liked me, and he used his rank to make sure no aid could come to us."

"That book has the names and ages of everyone who died. A quarter of them were children. Show that to Rhys when you're done. I doubt it'll make him feel much, but he should know that he helped kill them. As should you. That list doesn't contain the Minutemen who died protecting those settlements. Their names will be placed here, the original home of my men."

Then, like Garvey, Thiel turned and walked away, and the gate closed behind him. Arthur turned and marched towards his Vertibird, and mounted it. Gallows and Kodiak had stayed onboard, per his orders, but they were both clearly curious at what had happened. He didn't say anything as he boarded the Prydwen, and instead went straight to his room, ignoring everyone else. He sat down at his desk, and placed the file on it, opening it up.

 _Rachel Miller, age 28_

 _Michael Miller, age 27_

 _Andrew Locke, age 14,_

 _Eli Locke, age 12_

 _Robert Locke, age 36_

It went on, and on like that, and Thiel hadn't been lying when he said a quarter of them were children. It took him an hour, but he read through each name, before counting out the list. Four-hundred and thirty-two dead, because, as both of them said, he had played at politics. It was easy to forget that the Minutemen existed to protect the people, because they were so efficient at it. Arthur hadn't dealt with this level of competency in a long time.

He stared at the list once he was finished, pondering his next course of action. He was interrupted by Kells reaching out to him through the comm system.

"Elder, Paladin Rhys has returned from his assignment. He's waiting for you to debrief him. He failed." Kells was brief and frank as usual.

Arthur sighed, and rose from his desk, left his room, and made his way to the observation deck. He needed to have words with Rhys about his feeling about the Minutemen. It was going to be a long day.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN:**

 **WHOO! It's two-thirty in the morning, and boy am I pumped to have finished this chapter. This one was a shorty but a goody, explaining the relationship between the Minutemen and the Brotherhood, which has gone from 'yeah okay we could work together' to 'you useless walnuts deserve no mercy' Preston 'Roast-Master' Garvey and Nathaniel 'Ice Cold' Thiel went ten rounds with Arthur 'Frat-Boy' Maxson and came out with a TKO. As always, leave a review, and tell me what you think. Also, to 'N' who told me that I was retelling the fallout story. I'm very impressed you noticed that. Literally no one figured out my secret, how were you able to?**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	38. Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

It took a week to find an entrance to the Institute, and even then, it had been completely by accident. One of the me had been leaning against a wall when it caved in and sent him tumbling into an access tunnel that led _inside_ the old robotics wing. The soldier had bugged out quickly, and the team rushed to inform Nate. He was staring at the hole that led to the tunnel at the moment. Silver Nightshade was standing next to him, examining the structure of the tunnel they were in. Danse was back at the Command Centre, drilling the men in close quarters combat, in preparation of the assault on the institute. The Minutemen were on the war front, and Nate knew the end was coming soon. This would be his Anchorage Campaign.

"Yeah, it's sturdy, but still, enough explosions and gunfire can bring it down. I can reinforce it, but they'd get an idea of what we're doing, if they don't already." The newly promoted captain was saying. "It's really up to you, boss, and it depends on how many people you want to sneak in."

"Leave it as it is." Nate said, before turning to one of his aides, a kid, really, barely out of his teens. "Did you mark this location?" 

"Yes, sir, I did." The aide responded, and Nate nodded, before turning and strutting back towards the surface. Silver followed closely.

"You know that kid's related to Captain Farmer, from the second battalion." Nightshade mentioned, and Nate stuttered a little in his stride.

"Crap. That means I need to know his name." He muttered, and Captain Nightshade laughed.

"Bill Farmer. His nephew." The captain informed him, earning a thanks from Nate.

Nate looked over his shoulder and called out to his aide. "C'mon Bill, you gotta keep up."

The boy hurried to stay in stride with Nate, but he kept lagging behind, leading to the duo slowing down occasionally for him to catch up. Nate left the building that housed the entrance to the tunnel and linked up with a squad heading back to the Command Centre, and reached it by nightfall. He set Bill up with a bogus assignment to keep him off his back, and made his way to the combat course, that Danse was overseeing. The captain had taken his role as trainer incredibly seriously, and Nate was slightly amazed by the increase in efficiency the teams the former paladin was training had developed.

He found Danse overlooking a mocked-up facility, watching two squads go through and clear it. He was yelling encouragement or disparagement as they went along.

"That's it Ramirez! That's how you breach a room!" Followed shortly by, "God almighty Mallory, you just shot a civilian! Now I have to write to their families and tell them their child was killed by your incompetence!"

Nate cleared his throat, and Danse looked over his shoulder, before nodding in acknowledgement.

"All right, take a breather while the course is reset." He ordered, before turning to Nate and saluting.

"At ease, captain. I just wanted an update on the training." Nate told him.

"It's going well, sir. The entirety of the First Division will have run the courses at least twice by Friday. The other two haven't yet, but they're on above ground duty, right sir"

Nate nodded. "That's correct, just the First will be participating in the attack on the Institute. We've got a briefing at 1800 hours, so be ready. That's all."

Danse saluted once more, and Nate turned and walked away, listening in amusement as Danse began yelling again. He made his way through the busy tunnels to a section that was still under construction. The workers had discovered another gold vein, and miners from some of the quarries had been brought in to excavate it all. Nate was surprised so much gold could be found. There had been a shortage of it before the war, and he suspected that Vault-Tec had hid the knowledge that there was any here. The government would have shut down construction and begun digging in an instant. Preston had mentioned to him using the gold to create a backed monetary system, and while Nate admitted it had its benefits, as a military government at the moment, creating cash wasn't really the concern.

He nodded to the two guards standing outside the vein, and walked into the tunnel. The shift boss, a ghoul from the Pitt, greeted him.

"Colonel. The diggings going well, and I've reinforced the tunnel enough that it shouldn't collapse, but there's a strong source of radiation nearby somewhere. I can feel it seeping into my bones." The ghoul reported. "There's half a dozen other ghouls working in this shaft, but the others aren't, and if they stay, it could be bad for their health."

"Alright," Nate sighed, "pull the non-ghouls out, and try to find the radiation source. If we can safely remove it, it might make it safer for them to work, yeah?"

"Maybe. It depends on whether or not the radiation has seeped into the ground, or if it's in an emitting, but secure, source." He replied, and Nate nodded at him.

"Okay, thanks. Get those guys out of there, and before you go back to work, take a break." Nate ordered.

"Yes sir, thank you." And with that, Nate turned away, and walked towards his room, checking his watch. It was still another hour until the briefing, and he desperately needed a nap.

He found a guard standing outside his room, as usual, and told him to wake him in forty minutes, before entering his room, and collapsing face first onto his bed. He was out in an instant, despite all the issues that were bothering him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shaun looked at the gathered heads of departments, including the newly promoted Alana Secord. If any of them were surprised by the lack of Doctor Ayo, they didn't show it. Shaun rather suspected most of them were happy that he was gone. They were all patiently waiting for him to begin the meeting, but Shaun was interested in observing his scientists. He wondered how well they would do on the surface. After the failure to break the Minutemen, he knew it wouldn't be long until they came knocking at the Institutes door, so to speak, and he wanted his people to be ready for the possibility that they lost.

"I've gathered you here today because we have a crisis on our hands. As you know, over the past year, we increased production on earlier model synths. We had almost ten thousand built and programmed as of one month ago. Now we have two and a half thousand." Shaun began, and he saw the looks of shock and fear in the eyes of all present. "The Minutemen will come for us, and many of them will want to kill us. I won't allow that to happen. Doctor Li, I want you to increase weapons development. If it comes to an invasion, I want our synths to have the best they possibly can. All synths out in the field need to be recalled as well. I want all available manpower here."

That was a lie, though the others didn't know it. Shaun knew that the Institute would fall, and he knew that his father and the Minutemen would spend weeks, if not years, tracking down any escaped synth units. By having them all centrally located, it would quicken the process. Shaun wasn't quite sure why he wanted to make his fathers job easier for him, all his instincts were screaming for him to ensure the Institute survived, but there was a little, tiny voice in the back of his head telling him that he was doing the right thing. Something his parents would be proud of.

Though his brain told him this was the wrong decision, his heart told him it was the right one. It didn't matter. He would be dead soon, but that didn't mean he wanted the others to follow him.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN: We're down to the final stretch. I can see maybe four or five more chapters, and then book one of the resurgence series is complete. I have a sequel planned, and a shorter story to bridge the gap between this story and the sequel in the works. We'll see how it goes. As always, leave a review, and let me know what you think.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	39. Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Nate had chosen twenty-five men to join him for the raid on the Institute. They were all members of the First Company, and he had recruited them all personally. They were good, reliable men, and he knew that they would succeed with their mission. Naturally, twenty-five men wasn't enough to take the Institute on, but it was enough men to get to the molecular relay, which could then bring in dozens of Minutemen at a time. Nate and his team were responsible for making sure Preston and the rest of the men could get in. The general had argued ferociously against Nate leading the raid, but he had just told his old friend that he wouldn't ask the men to do it if he wouldn't. Eventually, Preston had conceded, but not before threatening to strip Nates rank away, arrest him, and all other manners of threats.

It wasn't pride that made Nate lead this raid, but loyalty. How could these men be loyal to him if he wasn't willing to lead them? So here he was, in the tunnel by the Institute, checking his gear. Most of the men, as well as Nate, carried a carbine variant of the HK417, which had been produced by Sturges and MinuteArms specifically for this assault. Two men carried M249 support weapons, and there was a three-man team carrying a M2 Browning, which could be deployed on a tripod. While it wouldn't be much use in the tight corridors of the facility they were going into soon, once they breached into the main headquarters of the Institute, they would deploy in a suitable location to supress targets.

Nate checked his watch.

"All right, let's move." He whispered, and the men rose almost as one, before sliding down the hole that led to their breaching point.

One of his men, a small, lithe man named Brandon Whyte, stuck a shaped brick of explosives on the wall, before hurrying back behind cover. He tossed the detonator to Nate, who counted down from three, and then pressed the button. The charge detonated inwards, destroying the portion of the wall it had been placed on. Nate was moving in an instant, followed by the rest of his commando team. As he rushed through the smoke, a blue beam appeared ahead of him. Nate launched himself to the side, landing behind a solid half-wall. The man behind him hadn't been so lucky, and had caught the laser bolt right in the face. It wasn't there anymore. Nate cursed, before peeking over the top of the wall.

The fire intensity had picked up, though Nate could only see four or five synths, and two turrets. None of the weapons being fired were semi-automatic, which meant that Shaun meant to force them back through fire superiority. Unfortunately for Shaun, Nate had expected this. The two support gunners deployed rapidly, and within seconds of breaching the wall, there was a hail storm of bullet fire. The two turrets were destroyed instantly, and Nate saw a synth get shredded in half. Literally.

"Grenade out!" A voice called over the fire, and blue lightening arced out at the end of the hall. The remaining synths fizzled, and then collapsed.

Nate rose slowly, before signalling for his men to continue advancing. He was at the lead of the party, as they stormed through the facility, which, while it had been abandoned long ago, had been reoccupied recently, and fortified, at least a little. For a while, they took no casualties beyond the first man, but as Nate rounded a corner, the wall behind him erupted, taking three men, including Brandon, whose body was littered with shrapnel. Nate grit his teeth and pushed onwards, firing a burst into a synth that jumped out from a doorway. The machine jerked violently as it fell backwards, but Nate pushed onwards. He had a mission to complete, and god damn it he was not going to fail. He wondered if his son could see him, watching through a hidden camera, or through the synths. He didn't know, and he didn't care either.

After they cleared the room, Nate called for a halt. It had been fifteen minutes since the assault began, and he was already down to nineteen men. He had injuries checked, and allowed the men two minutes to rest. He saw a glint in the corner of his eye and turned, finding a camera embedded into the wall. There was a miniscule blinking red light underneath it. Nate rose his fingers to his temple in a weak salute, but he knew Shaun would get the message.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shaun indeed received the message, Nate decided, though not the once he wanted, because the number of synths began increasing dramatically as they pushed through the old robotics facility. By the time they made it to the relay room, there were five other men alive. He knew them by name as well. Morrigan, Chambers, Delancey, Rodriguez, and Chase. They were good men, and woman, in Delancey's case, and they had fought hard. Morrigan, Chambers, and Chase set up the M2, which they had taken from the original gun team, who had been killed by a plasma grenade. The weapon was undamaged, thankfully, and they were able to watch the doors. Nate typed away at the terminal, and after a brief moment, he injected a holotape into the computer. The molecular relay activated at once, and in an instant, the Untouchable were in the facility. They moved rapidly, securing the room. The relay activated again, and another squad appeared. They waited until they had a full platoon, then moved onwards, rushing down a set of stairs. Gunfire began again.

Nate lost track of how many people passed him. He had slumped to the ground against the wall, and had closed his eyes. He was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. He cracked an eye open, and saw MacCready, Danse, and Preston standing over him. He gave them a bloody smile.

"Hi guys." He greeted. "We took the relay."

There was a moment of silence, and then MacCready snorted.

"Yeah, buddy, you did." Mac said to him. "But we need you again. There's an old man whose waiting for you."

Nate fully opened his eyes then, and stuck a hand out. Danse pulled him up, and he realized he hadn't told the man his son ran the Institute. Now wasn't the time, either. He thanked the man, and grabbed his carbine. He made his way down the staircase, ducking to the sides as men rushed up and down, some bringing wounded, others the dead. He stalked through the carnage, and made his way up to where he knew Shaun would be. Danse and MacCready waited outside, letting Nate have his moment.

Shaun was in a bed, a gurney, sitting at an angle. He looked at Nate sadly.

"This was the only life I knew. I thought we were doing the right thing." He stated simply. Nate nodded.

"I know you were, and if it weren't for the decisions you had made, I would've been proud of you." He paused, a moment. "Hell, I _am_ proud of you, and I don't agree with what you did. Shaun, no matter what, you are my son, and I love you. But I couldn't allow this to continue."

"And what are your plans with my people?" His son asked. "With me?"

"We'll evacuate your people, and you. You, and the leaders of the divisions, will be tried for crimes against humanity. We'll find you guilty, and sentence you to life in prison, with the possibility of parole, if you can earn it." Nate explained quietly.

"That's good, but I'm afraid I won't be able to undergo a trial. I am glad my people will be looked after." Shaun replied, and Nate looked at him in confusion. "I am dying, father. Cancer, of all things. I won't last beyond the day. I only have one request of you."

Nate could feel tears in his eyes, but he blinked them away. "Of course, whatever you need."

"I am aware that you buried my mother overlooking our old home. I'd like to be buried next to her. I never knew her in life, but perhaps afterwards I will." Shaun asked, and Nate nodded.

"Okay buddy. I'll do that." He gasped out, trying not to lose control of his emotions.

"Would you stay with me father? I don't want to be alone." Shaun sounded so young, so innocent at that moment that it took all Nate had not to burst out sobbing. "There is a terminal over on my desk. It is unlocked, and has the shutdown code for all the synths, including coursers inside the Institute. In the SRB there is a terminal with the names of all the people we replaced with synths. Please do not harm them."

Nate nodded, and walked over to the terminal, shutting down the synths, before walking over to his son, sitting by his side, and holding his hand. They sat in silence for three hours, before Shaun shuddered, and then stilled. That was when the dam burst, and Nate began sobbing silently. He kept his grip on Shaun's hand, and didn't let go. He barely noticed when Danse and Preston entered the room, and didn't do anything when they gently pried him from his son's side. It was when Danse went to move Shaun that Nate reacted.

"No. No." He said, causing Danse to look at him. "He's my son. He's my responsibility."

Nate walked over to his son's body, and wrapped it up, before picking it up bridal style. He walked towards the door, intent on making his way to the molecular relay. Preston called out to him.

"Nate, where are you going?"

Nate turned and looked at the general.

"He never met his mother. It's time he did." And with that, Nate turned and walked, ignoring the looks all the soldiers gave him, carrying the body of an old man, and cradling him close. Only the Institute scientists knew the truth, and they looked at him with sadness.

When Nate arrived at the relay room, Sturges was there waiting. He saw the body in Nate's arms, but didn't say anything. The grief in his eyes was evidence enough, he supposed.

"Sanctuary." Nate rasped out, and the mechanic nodded.

He stepped onto the pad, and was engulfed in white light.

 **MMXVII**

 **AN: Wow. Okay I feel kind of emotional after writing that. Anyway, emotions are over now, and I just want to clarify something. Synth Shaun will not appear, because in my opinion, that's the cruellest thing that Father did to the SS, but I won't get into that now. Like I said, I see a few more chapters before this story is finished. Or maybe only one more, I'm not sure yet. I guess we'll see. Also, a double chapter day, so yay for me. As always, leave a review and let me know what you think. Until next time.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	40. Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Piper had been interviewing one of the new officers when Nate returned to Sanctuary, carrying the body of his son. While several people called out to him, he ignored them all, walking right past the town towards the hill where Vault 111 was. But when he kept walking, Piper knew where he was heading. He had buried his wife overlooking both the Vault and Sanctuary, in an area that everyone knew not to go to. Even Piper hadn't gone, even though her instincts as a reporter had screamed for her to do so. Even now, she ignored the voice telling her to follow and find out what he was doing. Piper had seen the grief in his eyes, even from a distance, and had decided to keep her distance.

Piper lasted an hour. She had finished her interview, and waited patiently at the foot of the hill for Nate to return. He didn't come down, so Piper went to him. The sight broke her heart. Nate was kneeling in front of a freshly dug grave, weeping openly. She had never seen him cry before, and she wasn't sure if she was supposed to say anything or not, so instead, she kneeled beside him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and continued sobbing. She just held him, whispering soothing words, and rubbing his back. Eventually, the tears died down, and Nate was silent. He didn't move from where he was however, and Piper didn't try to move him, either.

It was another half hour before anyone else arrived. It was a trio consisting of Danse, MacCready, and Preston. None of the men said anything about finding Nate and Piper together, and in fact, none of their faces revealed anything about what they thought. Instead, Mac and Danse slipped Nate's arms around their shoulders and began moving him downhill. They led him to his house, where they vanished with him, presumably to let him shower. Preston stayed with her, reading a note that he had been handed earlier.

"Just after Nate went into the room where Shaun was, all the synths shut down. Every single one, just stopped. Our men put a bullet in each one to be sure, but the fighting didn't last as long as we expected." Preston told her, and Piper realized he was giving her the story. She began writing down notes. "We scoured the facility, and grabbed anything or anyone. All the scientists are accounted for, and we even have a list of all the synths who replaced people. Piper, you were right. McDonough is a synth."

Piper froze her writing, and looked at Preston, who nodded at her slowly.

"We informed Diamond City security, and they've arrested him. He's going to be transferred to our custody, and until then, the city is under the control of Danny Sullivan and the security team. They're holding a referendum to decide what to do in two weeks." He informed her.

Piper was at a loss for words. Preston chuckled at her expression.

"Anyway, we're holding the Institute scientists at a secure, and _undisclosed_ location." He emphasized the fact that he wouldn't tell her where they were, but she didn't really care. "We also grabbed the schematics for the reactor they were using. If we do things properly, we could power the entire city of Boston with only three or four of these things. It's amazing, really, the level of tech they have. I think the Brotherhood will pitch a fit when they find out we have the scientists. It's too bad for them, really, because we're not giving any of them up."

Piper looked at the General of the Minutemen. "What do you mean?" She asked him.

"We're going to put them on parole, if you will. They'll work for us under the supervision of scientists of our own choosing, and if they work loyally and well, we'll allow them the choice to keep working for us, or to be released to public life. The choice is theirs." He revealed. "The heads of the divisions are being questioned, and some of them will be put on trial, but for the most part, many of the scientists are innocent of the larger decisions at play."

"That's rather generous of you, General." She snorted at him, and Preston gave her an unimpressed look.

"Actually, I was content to simply keep them alive and locked away for life. Nate promised Shaun that his people would be treated fairly, and I don't have the heart to overrule him. Especially not now." Preston frowned as he finished, and Piper put her notebook away to indicate she wasn't treating this as an interview anymore.

"Do you think he'll do something stupid?" She asked him.

"I don't know Piper." Preston sighed. "I honestly don't know what he'll do. We've seen him break _once_ in the three years we've known him, and it took a settlement being nuked to do so. I'm just glad he didn't see us blow the Institute."

"Is that what that blue flash was?"

"Oh yeah. We put a charge in the reactor, and-." He mimicked an explosion with his hands. "A massive one too. There's a giant crater where the university at Cambridge used to be. It's slightly terrifying."

Piper nodded, making a mental note, before turning back to the task at hand. "But Nate? How will he cope?"

Preston sighed again. "One day at a time, I'm assuming. He found out his son was alive two months ago, and now his son is dead. That's a large enough shock for anyone, and that's not including the fact his son was twice his age."

"The best thing we can do is help him subtly. Don't try to force him to reveal how he feels, things like that. I know you have a job in Diamond City, but if you could stay close at hand, it would really help. You're a good presence for him, even if he doesn't admit it." Preston finished, looking at Piper pleadingly.

"Oh, alright, don't puppy-dog-eyes me. Dogmeat's bad enough." She relented.

She turned to see Nate striding out of his house, followed by Danse and MacCready, who looked confused as to why he was moving so fast. He slowed as he reached the duo, and stopped in front of Piper. He looked at her shyly, which was new.

"Thank you." He muttered softly, looking down.

Piper had never known Nate to be shy, so when she stepped forward and looked up, it was to look him in the eyes when she replied.

"Really, Nate it's not a- Mmph!" She was cut off when Nate leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.

Piper couldn't breathe, but before she could react, Nate was gone, almost vanished into thin air. She saw the other three looking around, but she just pressed her hand to her lips, which were tingling from the feeling of Nate's own. Then she realized what he had done, and looked around to see where he had run off to.

"What the fu-."

 **MMXVII**

 **AN: So I didn't tag Piper and SoSu because it wasn't important to this story, and it won't be important to the next short sequel, but the main sequel following it will focus on the relationship that will develop. I've also decided to finish this story here, which means that updates for Steel and Blood, and Venator should be coming out soon, as well as maybe a new story. I haven't decided on that one yet, but we'll see. As always, leave a review, and let me know what you think. The immediate sequel is going to be short, only about ten chapters, written from the perspective of five different people, and I'll start writing it soon. The first chapter may be out next week, or the week after, depending on how long I decide to make the chapters.**

 **Cheers, SovietBabushka**


	41. SEQUEL IS UP!

SEQUEL IS UP!

The Sequel to Rise of the Minutemen is up! Please don't kill me for taking so long!


	42. An Update and an Apology

**An Update and an Apology**

Hello to all. It's been around a year since I last posted anything at all, and for that, I need to apologise. Since I last wrote anything, my family got our green card, I finished my first year of Uni, and I'm about to move houses, so my life is pretty hectic. So, after a year-long hiatus, I took a look back at this, and decided that I'm going to rewrite this entire series. My writing has become _way_ better since then, and I think I can give this story the attention it deserves now. I _am_ going to rewrite both Rise of the Minutemen, which will lead into Reclamation, but things will be different as well. I'd like to hear what y'all have to say about that. Again, I am _so_ sorry about my absence.

Cheers, SovietBabushka


	43. Rewrite is Up!

**New Story is Up!**

The official re-write of Resurgence: Rise of the Minutemen is now up! As of this update, it's just the prologue, but I have four more chapters written already, and am working on the fifth! It's just called Resurgence. Check it out!


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